The Odds
by Tahirih22
Summary: This story begins with Bosco waking up, for the second time, from his coma. It chronicles his recovery, with the help of Faith, and later their ensuing romance CHAPTER 6 YAY!
1. Default Chapter

Right then, this is my first piece of fiction so I want honest opinions! I don't own any of these lovely characters except for the ones that I will create. NBC's got all the good ones. Anywho, this will end up being a super long story that will chronicle Bosco's recovery, Faith's healing (from the divorce), and their eventual romance. If I can, I will try and parallel NBC's plot lines as long as they don't interfere with mine. For instance, I may reference something that happened on the shift or with family members. My main objective is to stay as true to the characters as possible, but with a little imagination for their potential. If there's one thing that I hate the most, it's reading a story that doesn't show the characters in their true light. I've read so many stories that have great plots, but the characters would NEVER do or say what they've been written into. Get my drift? Now God forbid I fall into those sinning ways, please slap me…or better yet, just tell me! Please enjoy and review!

Cheers!

V

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The Odds

He had woken up hours ago when she was at work. Rose was there with him at the time, the only one to witness the miracle firsthand. She was here now, lingering next to his bed with baited breath, anxiously awaiting any movement from the invalid. She looked so frail as she stared at her last son, the last link in her lineage. She had set aside all of her grief and focused her energy on getting him better. Faith looked at her and quietly sighed. She felt tears prick at her eyes and a guilt that was so overwhelming slowly washed over her. Faith, never one to cry in public, willed him to move; to show her any sign that he was still in there, alive. She watched how the light filtered in through the blinds, casting white rays into the otherwise dismal room. Faith rested her cheek on her palm, tilted her head towards the window, and looked out into the late morning. The day was deceiving, outside it was bright, sunny, and cool. People walked through the streets with a strut in their step without a real worry or care. If anyone had bothered to look up they might have seen the loneliest woman in the world staring down at them. _I used to be one of them_, Faith thought. _I used to be happy. How did it come to this? Why am I here and not out there with the rest of the world? How the hell did we get here Bos?_ Faith swallowed hard and tried her best not to dwell on her unhappy thoughts. Faith's eyes flicked up as a nurse came into the room. The nurse smiled at them and checked his charts. She walked over to his monitors, wrote down what she had deciphered, and returned the chart to the bottom of his bed. She stopped and glanced over at Faith and then back to Rose.

"Um, it's time to change his collection bag, so if you don't mind waiting out-" The nurse began.

"Oh no, its fine, she's fine!" Rose exclaimed. "She's family and-"

"Oh it's okay Rose, I uh- I need to use the bathroom anyway," Faith said getting up quickly. The nurse nodded and waited until Faith left the room before she began changing the bag.

Faith walked through the lobby and into the bathroom. She braced herself against the cold marble counter and closed her eyes. Her mind wandered back to a time, surprisingly not so long ago, when Bosco was strong, healthy, and best of all cocky as hell. She missed him so much. She would give anything to hear his snide comments and endure his self-assured arrogance. After all, that's what made him Bosco. Now as she pictured him lying in that bed, tubes going in to feed him, and tubes going in to remove his waste, Faith choked back a sob. _Keep it together Faith. You've got to keep it together. What the hell good is it gonna do anybody for you to fall apart now? Rose needs you to be the strong one, she needs help. But no one's there to help me… I need help too._ Again Faith forcefully pulled herself back from her depressing thoughts and looked defiantly in the mirror. She took a deep breath and blew it out. She adopted a serious face and said, "You're going to keep it together; it's what we do. You've got no one else but you and if you break, then that's it. You'll do this and we'll pull through. Just like always." Faith lingered on her face for a few seconds longer and nodded. Head held high, she turned and walked back out into the lobby.

The light was almost blinding. He didn't know where he was or how he got there. But he was well aware of the people around him, talking to him, and sometimes crying. He wondered what had happened to make them so sad. He guessed that he was lying somewhere, but it really felt more like he was floating. Nothing seemed solid, nothing seemed real. Was he dreaming? No, this would be one hell of a long dream. He wasn't sure how long he was like this, but he knew that she was with him from time to time. He felt her near him now. She was talking to him…she seemed so close and yet so far away. If only he could reach her, say something, but he couldn't move. Well, he would just have to try harder. He willed himself to open his eyes, but they felt as if they were weighted down with lead. He was about to give up when he felt her brush his arm, she felt so warm, she was so close. With renewed strength he focused all of his energy on opening his eyes. When the moment finally came Bosco saw her startled face, and it all came crashing back to him.

At first she wasn't aware of the change. Faith sat placidly by his bedside, deep down expecting nothing to happen. Rose has left the room for a much needed rest about an hour before at the behest of Faith; the poor woman looked like she might have collapsed in a heap otherwise. It was well into the afternoon, and here Faith sat on her day off watching her still partner. She took in the gauze that covered his face, the clean turquoise gown that enshrouded him, and the smooth lines of the bed linen. His chest rose and fell in a quiet, succinct motion, never once faltering. His eyes moved under his closed lids as if in a dream. Faith wondered what he was seeing in there. She wondered if all he saw was darkness. Her eyes followed the sharp angles of his face, and lingered on his smooth lips. She had often seen those very lips is a deep frown, but now they seemed complacent. In fact, if it weren't for the gauze Faith would swear that he was only in a deep sleep. She wondered if he could feel her touching him. Faith ran her hand down his forearm and rested it on top of his. A few seconds later she noticed that his chest was no longer rising and falling in the same fluid motion. She glanced over at his monitor and saw that his heart rate was slowly rising. Faith sat up straight as an arrow as her eyes flew back to him. Bosco was staring right back at her.

"Oh my G- OH MY GOD! HE'S AWAKE! BOS-BOSCO'S AWAKE! Oh my God! Bos you're awake!" Faith cried. "Nurse! He's awake!" Faith shouted towards the door and grabbed Bosco's hand. His breathing sounded labored and his eyes were wide open as if in shock.

"Just calm down Bos, it's okay. Everything's alright. You're gonna be alright, you're alright," Faith whispered as tears streamed down her face.

All Bosco could do was stare at her, as if trying to convey every thought, every question, and every feeling from every moment since he had been gone. Out of nowhere the doctor was by his bedside checking his vitals. When he was satisfied with his examination the doctor stood up and draped his stethoscope around the back of his neck. He looked down at his patient and smiled. _Against all the odds_, he thought.

"Well Mr. Boscorelli, welcome back to the land of the living."

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	2. Better Left Forgotten

Faith rose groggily from her bed and glanced at the clock. _Shit, I overslept again! Jelly's gonna have my ass_, Faith thought mournfully. It had been a long week. She was trying to divide her time between winning her kids back, staying with Bosco, being mentally prepared for work, and getting there on time. Faith was failing miserably. She had devised a brilliant plan that would allow her to spend time doing all four things, but it just didn't seem to be working. Faith wondered where the glitch was. Instead of being the well rested superwoman that she had intended, she was rumpled, tired, depressed, and cranky. Most days she'd drag herself home from the hospital at four in the morning, barely making it to her bed before passing out. She'd even set her clock to give her enough time to shower, eat, and make it to work before Jelly'd had his sixth cup of coffee. But Faith was so exhausted that she'd slept through her alarm. So again she had to rush. Faith moaned as she forced herself out of her warm bed. While slogging towards the bathroom she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The woman that she saw staring back stood in a wrinkled suit that screamed cheap. She looked at her face, marked from her pillow, and took in the dark circles under her eyes. _Damn, good morning gorgeous! Ready for another day of fun?_ Faith thought as she shook her head at the reflection. Faith stripped out of her suit and ran the shower. She stepped under the spray and wearily began to wash herself. She turned around to rinse off her back and sighed,

"Here goes another day. Stop being so pessimistic, I need a positive attitude. Just think positive," She told herself. Somewhere she'd heard that positive self-talk was the key to a great life, and that saying it out loud was like some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. "Just think positive and be positive. Today's gonna be better. Yes, today will be- JESUS CHRIST!" Faith shrieked as a blast of icy cold water pounded her back. All the air was sucked out of her lungs from the shock. She leapt out of the shower, slipping and nearly breaking her neck in the process. Naked and cold Faith turned around and glared at the treacherous shower head, which was now back to pumping out hot, steamy water.

"Bastard!" she muttered.

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"What happened to you?" Jelly inquired.

Faith glared at him as he sipped his coffee and looked at her with his beady-eyed curiosity.

"Nothing," she growled and slammed her briefcase on her desk.

"Have some coffee, it'll make you feel better," Jelly said jovially. Faith glanced at him and then to the eleven empty cups that filled his trashcan. She should have been at work five cups ago. "So you're late again, you know just because you're a detective now don't mean that you don't have to keep hours. I already had a pot of coffee and cause _you_ weren't here, I had to make another one myself!" Jelly said looking offended and put out. "You're supposed to be here to make the coffee! What's keepin you, eh? You gotta new pork or somethin? No, I take that back, cause if you had a new pork you woulda been happy that something crawled up your ass!" Jelly laughed at his own joke and patted his stomach gleefully.

Faith stared at him openmouthed and willed her mind to keep its malevolent thoughts to itself. She sat down and began sorting through the papers that Jelly had piled on her desk.

"Eh, eh, okay you gonna give me the cold shoulder all day cause I made a little joke? So what's up, who's this guy you been seein all night, huh? Or is it…a broad?" Jelly smiled lasciviously at the thought.

Faith looked up sharply. "Who am I seeing? Who am I seeing! No I'm not seeing a damned broad ya dunce! Who I'm seeing is Bosco! Remember him?! Or did all that coffee finally rot your brain! A broad! What the hell is it with men and lesbians?" Faith huffed feeling her face turn red with anger.

"Whoa, whoa, yeah okay, Bosco. Yeah, um so how is he?" Jelly asked nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked over at Faith apologetically.

Faith looked down at her desk, not wanting to begin that conversation. Instead she quickly changed the subject. "So, what do we have for today?" Faith asked professionally.

_Whoa, that bad huh?_ Jelly thought. Not wanting to pry, Jelly followed her lead and got to work.

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It was bad in fact. After he had woken up Faith quickly phoned Rose to tell her the news. After that she didn't leave his side the entire night. Faith sat there holding his hand and shushing him. Bosco looked at her with questioning eyes, wanting to know what had happened and why he couldn't move. He made an attempt at talking, but all that came out were low, hoarse moans.

"Shhhh, Bos. Don't try to talk. Just give it a little time. I guess you want to know what happened, don't you?" Faith asked soothingly. Bosco's eyes screamed yes. Faith sat there a while longer, wondering if she should be the one to tell him that they had to bury his brother without him. Because she was unsure of how well his memory was functioning, she decided to wait until Rose came. She chose not to mention Mikey's death or the incident at the funeral home at all. "Bosco, do you remember being at the hospital, in the waiting room?" She waited for some kind of a response. She watched as Bosco looked away from her and concentrated on remembering. Finally he squeezed her hand and allowed her to continue. "Do you remember that it was me, you, Cruz, and Davis in the waiting room?" Bosco thought for a moment and squeezed her hand. "Bosco, you remember that we were all in there talking…but do you remember anything that happened after that?" Faith searched his eyes and found the answer, no.

Faith took in a shaky breath and looked away from him. She didn't like to think about what happened after that, when another piece of her world was ripped apart. _My God there was so much blood_, she remembered horrified. She felt Bosco squeeze her hand, she looked up and met his gaze. His eyes told her that he had to know and begged her to continue. He needed to know, he had a right to know. Faith just never thought that it would be this hard to tell him. He squeezed her hand again and searched her eyes for answers. "Alright…um, there were, there were men, four men. They came into the hospital with automatics, they were looking for us. We were all in the waiting room talking and I saw them run by. I tried to say something, but they just…he just started shooting. You jumped on top of me and we fell on the floor. It felt like it was going on forever. Cruz or Davis took him down, I don't remember which one. We were all alright, but you-you…I felt your arm around me and I called you but-" Faith's voice broke as she struggled not to cry. "I, I called your name but you didn't answer me. So I got up and I looked at you and," Faith couldn't hold it in any longer and tears fell freely down her face. "You were covered in blood!" She sobbed. Faith continued to cry as she retold her story, "I didn't know what to do! You weren't moving, you weren't moving and there was _so_ much blood. I thought you were dead. We pulled you into another room and I stayed with you until the medics came. PD took care of the other shooters."

Faith ended her story abruptly, unable to continue. She was unable to tell him how horrified she was when she saw the thick maroon streak his body left when they dragged him across the floor. She was unable to tell him about the blood that kept flowing out of him like a river that she was powerless to stop. Faith was unable to tell him about how ill she felt when he stopped breathing, or the squishing noise her hands made when she did compressions on his chest, or the taste of his blood in her mouth. She was unable to say any of it, so instead she just sat there and wept.

Bosco watched her intently, looking for the answers that he knew she was holding back from him. He knew something was wrong when she paused, as if she were debating whether or not to tell him something. _What's she keeping from me?_ He wondered. All Bosco was able to do was squeeze her hand as a response or look at her meaningfully. They had always been able to read each other like a book, so his lack of verbal communication really wasn't a problem. It was hers that worried him. He listened closely as she asked him questions, trying to stimulating his memory. Her hand never left his and as she began telling him what happened, he could feel her begin to shake. _What the hell happened that was that bad?_ Bosco asked himself as she launched into her story. Towards the end Bosco watched, mortified as she sobbed, hardly able to form words. She was trembling all over and finally just stopped talking. Bosco knew instinctively that she had kept the worst parts to herself, not wanting to plague him with the details that haunted her. Bosco felt a slight tinge of irritation that she would keep things from him, but as tears cascaded down her face it was forgotten. He hated to see her cry and wanted nothing more then to reach out and wipe her tears away, letting her know that everything was going to be alright. But everything wasn't alright. _Hell, I can't even move let alone talk. _ He imagined himself laying like this for the rest of his life, unable to move or talk. That thought alone sent cold fear running down his spine that settled in the pit of his stomach. He closed his eyes as a strong wave of nausea hit him.

Faith wiped her eyes and looked over at Bosco. She took his hand again and he held it in a death grip.

"Bos, what's wrong?" She asked alarmed. He was cold and pale, and when she looked into his eyes she could feel the fear radiating from them.

Rose burst into the room in a frenzy. She looked wild as if she had flown half way across the world in five minutes flat. When she laid eyes on Bosco she teared up.

"Oh Maurice, baby! Oh my baby, you're awake! Mama's here sweetheart!" She prattled lovingly as she made her way to his bedside. Faith immediately saw Bosco's fear beginning to ebb. His face relaxed as she kissed his hands and his forehead, careful not to hurt him.

"How are you feeling baby? Do you need a doctor? Are you hungry? What do you want mama to do sweetheart?" Rose questioned rubbing his forearm.

Faith cleared her throat and asked if Rose would meet her outside when she was ready. Faith walked into the lobby and waited. When Rose emerged a few minutes later, Faith stood and gave her a hug. Rose smiled and said,

"He's looking better isn't he? He looks good." Rose looked at Faith and knew something was wrong. "What is it honey? Did the doctors say something?" Rose asked quickly.

"No, no, I…why don't we sit?" Faith waited until they were seated before telling her what was on her mind. "Rose, I told him about the accident," She felt Rose stiffen beside her. "But I, I didn't tell him about…Mikey. I wasn't sure if he remembered or not. I thought it would be better if you told him." Faith explained gently. Rose looked down and Faith instantly felt guilty for bringing it up.

"Look I'm sorry Rose, forget I said any-" Faith began. Rose waved her off and stood up, surprising Faith.

"No," she said sadly," He's got a right to know…Mikey was his brother." Faith was amazed at the woman's strength and stood up with her.

"Are you sure you want to do this now," Faith probed.

"Yeah, if I didn't, I'd never hear the end of it." Faith nodded knowingly. Together they walked back into the room and tried to steel themselves.

Rose sat quietly by Bosco's bed and held his hand. She moved her thumb in circles, soothing him. After preparing herself, she looked at her son. "Maurice, do you remember why we were at the hospital? What we were doing there in the first place?" Rose asked.

Bosco searched his memory. Coming up with nothing, he focused on his mothers face. There was a deep sorrow there, deeper than her sorrow over him. Something was pulling at his memory, beckoning him closer.

Bosco looked over at Faith needing confirmation. She met him with a somber gaze that sealed the truth. Rose watched as her son's eyes became wide. It was then that Bosco let out a mournful cry. Rose closed her eyes and let the tears fall.

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More Chapters Coming Your Way! Comments? Please Review, Thanks!


	3. Hell Is What They Give Us

Bosco listened as Doctor Carol droned on about his current condition, the length of time he should expect to recover-given a number of variables, and what their rehabilitation program involved. Bosco had never been so anxious in his life. He cared nothing about "the variables" or what exercises he needed to do, he only wanted to know when he could begin.

"The road to recovery is a long one, and often very demanding. You'll be in a good deal of discomfort, I should say." the doctor explained.

Bosco looked at the man sourly. He was young, maybe mid-thirties or more. He was tall, pale, and had an unusually high voice. His face was somewhat pleasing with its high cheek bones, long eyelashes, and full lips. _Whoa, this dude looks like a chick!_ Bosco mused. Bosco noted that the doctor had an annoying habit of flailing his boney arms through the air as he spoke, several times coming close to knocking himself in the head. _Correction, _you_ look like a chicken_.

"It's also not uncommon for people, such as yourself, to become depressed during the rehabilitation process. You'll be discovering that your body isn't capable of things that it used to. Even simple tasks that you were able to carry out with the greatest of ease will require an enormous effort. It's a difficult thing to endure. Your body and mind will both be working through some trauma."

Bosco snapped his head up. "Are you callin' me weak?! Cause I'm far from it, pal!" he hissed hoarsely. _I aughtta pound his girly little ass!_ Bosco fumed.

"Not at all Mr. Boscorelli!" the doctor said calmly. "I'm only saying that most people in your condition tend to experience some physical, as well as mental difficulties during rehabilitation. It's really quite normal."

"Mental difficulties? What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?" Bosco demanded angrily.

"Maurice…" Rose warned, fixing him with a stare. "We're so sorry, please, go on."

Doctor Carol paused and forced a smile that instantly vaporized when he looked at Bosco. Obviously flustered by such obtuse behavior, he slowly began to inch towards the door. "Actually, we're just about done here, so I'll just send the nurse in; she can explain the exercises to you and answer any questions. I'm very pleased with your progress Mr. Boscorelli, Ms. Boscorelli." Cringing, he nodded to them both and headed for safer ground.

Clearly annoyed, Rose turned and frowned at her son, "Did you have to do that?"

"Do what?" Bosco protested, but one look from Rose quickly settled the argument. Bosco looked away from his mother and sulked.

"Jag off," he muttered.

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"Yeah, I'd say he's been dead at least two weeks. He's got maggots hatchin all over the place. Makes it look like a damn factory! So, after this you wanna go get something to eat?" Jelly inquired as he sniffed around the corpse.

Gagging, Faith stared at him in abject horror. He never failed to amaze her. Here they were standing next to a pile of rags and rotting flesh, hopelessly swatting at flies whose mere existence stemmed from said heap, and all he could think about was food.

"Aw…God," Faith moaned and quickly stepped away from the intensity of the odor.

"If we're lucky he'll turn out to be a bum who keeled over and then maybe some nice people decided bury him in a shallow grave of garbage. I'm too hungry for this to be a murder. Could really go for some spaghetti right now, yeah that sounds good," He chattered to himself. Jelly looked up and noticed Faith standing several yards away.

"Eh, you gonna stand there all day, or you gonna come over here and do the job?" He said looking at Faith and frowning, "Come on, hurry up, I'm hungry!"

Faith covered her face and approached reluctantly. Jelly bent over and pointed to the back of the corpse's head. "You see that?" Jelly asked. He was pointing to a large gray spot, swollen with great maggots wriggling through what looked to be brain matter.

Faith sighed, "Gunshot." This was promising to be a long day.

"Exactly, so much for him being a bum," Jelly stood up and Faith began looking around the crime scene.

"What are you doing?" Jelly asked.

Faith looked at him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm looking for casings," she said gesturing towards the ground.

"You're looking for casings? Why?"

Faith sighed exasperatedly; she hated it when he was hungry. Hungry meant grumpy and grumpy meant him playing the violin on her nerves. She knew she'd have to feed him soon. "You don't think it happened here?" Faith asked patiently.

"No, this is a pretty well-lived in neighborhood. If somebody dropped a guy behind these brownstones, we'd of heard about it. Somebody popped this guy in the head and dumped the body here," Jelly explained.

Realizing he was probably right, Faith nodded slowly in agreement. She made her way back over to the corpse and stood by his side.

"So where do we go from here?" She asked.

"I don't see any blood, no pools, no trails, nothin. So I'm guessin' he bled out wherever they whacked him, and then took him here in a car. No ID on him so we'll have to run the database. From there-"

"Jelly," Faith interrupted. Jelly turned to see her staring at the victim's foot.

"What?"

"He's only got one boot on," Faith said.

"So what? They don't come fully dressed at your service, you know." Jelly stood over Faith and looked down at her.

"So, take a look at this. He's got black mud all over his boot, and…" Faith paused as she looked closer. "I think that's a fish scale."

"Let me see," Jelly said. He pushed his glasses back into his hair and peered at the boot. "Yeah, you got a _few_ scales actually, but what the hell does that say?"

Faith rocked back on her heels and looked at Jelly. "Well, where's a place where you can get black muck and fish scales stuck to your shoes?" She asked with a hint of a smile.

"Chinatown," Jelly quipped.

Faith frowned, "The docks Jelly."

"Hey, I was just kiddin! The docks, it was the next thing outta my mouth! So have this guy sent over to the coroner's office and then we'll make some calls," Jelly said standing up, "But first, let's go get something to eat."

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Bosco looked at the blank TV screen and sighed. His mother had finally left to get dinner and he was savoring the quiet. As much as he loved his mother and was grateful for her presence, her incessant talking was beginning to bore holes into his brain.

_Take all the time you want_, Bosco thought. _Better yet, just go home and relax Make yourself some tea, you like tea, take a hot bath, get some sleep. Don't fight it, you know you're getting tired, so go home and sleep… I don't mind. GO HOME. _He had never believed in telepathy, but he hoped like hell that it was working now. Bosco heard soft footsteps approaching and groaned. _I knew that New Age stuff was load of crap!_ He shifted as the footsteps drew nearer. There was something familiar about them and he knew they didn't belong to his mother. When he saw a blonde head come around the corner he smiled inwardly.

"Hey you," Faith said softy. She made her way over to the chair that faced the television. She smiled and looked from the TV and then to him. "Well I thought for sure you'd be watching the game! What's up?" She asked.

Bosco rolled his eyes and reached for the bed remote. He pressed a button and the bed lowered so that he was lying prostrate. "I just needed quiet…talking all day," he mumbled.

Faith looked down, "Oh, well if you want I can go. I know you're tired, so I'll just catch you later." Faith began to get up from the chair, but Bosco waved her off.

"No stay. As long as you don't talk about anything that has to do with yarn or _Days of Our Lives_, you can stay," Bosco said tiredly. He yawned and looked over at Faith. She smiled at him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He could tell that she was trying to hide the dark circles under her eyes with makeup, but they still shown through. Her eyes were slightly red, a telltale sign of no sleep. She looked worse than the last time he had seen her.

Faith noticed Bosco watching her, "What? You want me to go? What's wrong?"

"When's the last time you got a full night's sleep, Faith?" Bosco asked quietly. Talking was still uncomfortable for him, and usually at the end of the day it hurt his throat to do so.

"What? I'm sleeping fine," Faith said and looked away from him, "Besides, we should be worried about you. Your mother told me you've been having nightmares again," Faith said and faced him in her chair.

Bosco glared at her disapprovingly. He could always tell when he had struck a chord with her. She'd look away, give some lame lie or excuse, and then artfully flip the subject back to him.

"What's going on Faith?"

Faith shifted uncomfortably in her chair. The last thing she wanted to discuss was her wreckage of a life, "Look Bosc-"

"When were you going to tell me?" Bosco asked his eyes boring in hers.

"Tell you what?"

"When were you going to tell me about Fred?" Bosco asked pointedly.

Faith sat in her chair stunned. How could he know? She hadn't told anyone. Jelly only figured it out on his own, "I…what-how?" Faith asked stumbling over her words.

Bosco looked at her remembering late one night, while he was desperately trying to get some sleep, his mother let slip that Fred and Faith had separated permanently. To say he was shocked was an understatement.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Bosco questioned, "Faith what happened?" He watched as Faith tried to collect herself. She looked down and fingered the hem of her sweater. When she looked back up her eyes were glistening with tears.

"I messed up…I messed up Bos. I didn't see it coming. It just blindsided me. I came home that night…and he, he left me Bosco. He had taken the kids and left," Faith said miserably.

Bosco frowned and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "Wait a minute," He said quickly, '_He_ left you? Fred left _you_?! Impossible," He whispered.

Faith looked at her lap and angrily swiped at a tear. "No, it's not impossible. He's gone and now I have nothing left. I don't have a husband, I don't have you, and I don't have my kids. He's trying to get full custody Bos. My lawyers aren't real optimistic about my chances," she explained shaking her head, "I work too much, I'm never home-" Faith's voice quavered as she continued, "They're telling me I'm a bad mother that I can't take care of my kids. They're trying to say that they'll be better off without me!" She exclaimed pointing to her chest. Faith shook her head and looked away from him.

Bosco watched as she wiped away a few tears, "Faith…why didn't you tell me?" he asked tentatively.

Faith's lip quivered slightly and she shrugged, "Because I'm ashamed," she said not looking him in the eye.

"…of what?" he asked.

She continued to look over his shoulder and whispered, "He left me for another woman Bosco. He left because he decided that I chose the job over my family. He had an affair and I never knew it. He left me for someone else. Now it's her with my kids and my husband. Before I even knew my marriage fell apart he was with someone else. While he had me sleeping on the couch for a month, he was looking for someone else. Now that someone has my family. He took away my life without even discussing it with me. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is Bosco?" Faith asked dejectedly.

Bosco shook his head, he didn't know. He raised his bed again and stared at her He took in her tears and her quiet anger. She had the air of a beaten woman. Her shoulders were slumped in defeat and her eyes told him she was lost. Seeing her so broken and knowing the cause of it, made anger spread through him like fire. Bosco reached out, took her hand in his, and held it to his chest.

"You can't give up Faith," he whispered, "I know you can't see the end right now, but you've got to believe that things will get better. If you don't then you'll loose everything. If you want your kids, if you want to get through this, then you've got to believe that you will… Faith?" Bosco asked. She raised her head somberly.

Bosco saw her bottom lip trembling, and lightly touched his own to the back of her hand and squeezed it, "You're going to get through this… we're both going to get through this," He said and gestured to his own broken body. Faith nodded, cursing herself for being weak. She hated crying, especially in front of Bosco. He had enough on his plate already, and the last thing he needed was to sit through her pathetic tirade.

Bosco touched the bottom of her chin with his finger, causing her to look up. "Don't do that," He said deadly serious.

"Do what?" Faith asked confused.

"Don't think that you're weak," Faith blushed and looked away, "Look at me Faith," he commanded. She returned his gaze. "You're not weak, you're not worthless, you're not ugly, or inferior, or any of the rest of the crap that you're tellin yourself," Bosco exhorted, "You're anything but unremarkable, you're strong, you're smart, and you're loving. You're always there when anyone needs you. You nurture your relationships and you help people, but you don't take their crap either. You have more strength and perseverance bottled up in you, than anyone put together. You never give in Faith; it's just not in you," Bosco said tenderly.

Faith watched him in amazement. She had never known him to be so compassionate. She felt regretful for not telling him sooner and not trusting his response. She sighed and regarded him silently. She missed him being in her life. She had forgotten that she could depend on him. Faith smiled and held his hand tighter, "I'm sorry Bosco. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner…I guess I didn't-I didn't want to burden you with my problems. You've got enough to worry about," Faith explained.

"You're not a burden Faith. You're my partner, you're my friend. I may be busted up, but that doesn't cancel it out. We're partners, and partners are there for each other, no matter what. You taught me that," Bosco said and laid back into his pillows. Faith smiled at him thankfully. He was willing to support her even when his own life was upside down.

"You're amazing Bos," she told him.

Bosco scoffed and scratched his arm nervously, "Yeah, just don't let that get out. Don't want people to think I'm gettin soft," he smirked.

"Yeah, I promise I won't tell anyone that you're a pushover," Bosco tried to look offended, "or that you really do know big words," Faith said grinning at him. Bosco jabbed her shoulder affably and laughed.

--------------------

Faith left the hospital that night feeling lighter than she had in weeks. As she laid in bed her she contemplated their conversation, and accepted that Bosco was right. She was a fighter and wouldn't be defeated without a battle. Faith thought about Bosco and knew that they were both going through a long, bitter struggle. Nevertheless, she felt a little peace in knowing that they were in it together. Soon afterward, for the first time in what seemed like an age, a sweet, tranquil sleep overtook her.

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More Chapters Coming Your Way! Comments? Please Review, Thanks!


	4. Getting There

Alright, this is the fourth installment in _The Odds_ and it took me forever to write it. First I was out of the country for a couple of weeks, and then I got back and simply froze up. Any writer will tell you that you come to a point where you have this perfect, fragile tale safely contained within your mind. Then once you sit down to write it you freak out because it's not coming out the way you planned it and you don't want to screw up that perfect story anymore. So, this didn't come out the way I planned it, but I'm making no apologies because I finally go it out. Some parts are great and others not so much. However, the burden of telling _that_ part of the story is graciously over. Whew! I must say that it's harder than I thought it would be to stick to NBC's plot lines. I try not to let their stories influence mine so much that I copy them. However, my story will aim to be MUCH lighter than theirs. Over the past few seasons their stories have become _so _completely depressing that I feel sorry for the characters. I mean, who has ever known such a morose group? Nothing good ever happens to those folks and were I them, I might have jumped off a canyon by now!

Right, cheers and happy reading!

V

--------------------

IV Getting There

"Run…RUN MORON RUN!" Bosco screamed. "To the left, TO-THE-LEFT!" He yelled and flailed his arms in the direction. "Aw, you're toast dude! Toast! I told you not to go that way!" Bosco huffed in disgust.

"Bos, do you have to yell every time we watch this show?" Faith grumbled.

"I was just tryin' to give him some direction! He's obviously too stupid to do it on his own. I mean, who actually runs _to_ their assailant?" Bosco asked incredulously. Faith rolled her eyes and picked up her magazine.

"Bosco nothing that you say, excuse me-yell, is going to help him. Okay? They filmed that show like months ago. That impala, he's dead, so nothing that you're yelling _now_ is doing him any good," she said testily.

"Why you getting' so hot with me? I was only tryin' to help him out!"

Faith ground her teeth and gripped the magazine. "I'm not gettin' _hot_ with you Bosco, I'm just sick of sittin' here watching the Animal Planet with you screeching in my ear all the time. Now mind you I actually like this channel, but you just end up sucking all the joy out of it!" Faith ranted.

"Faith, what are you-"

"I'm sitting here enjoying the show and then ten minutes in, as usual, you start to get worked up." Her magazine was steadily crumbling under the pressure.

"I don't get worked up!" Bosco protested.

"YES BOSCO, you get worked up! I don't understand why you keep putting yourself through this. You know damned well the animal is gonna' die; it's in the title! But yet you still insist on BLOWING my eardrums out every time!" Faith willed herself to stay cool. _It's just a show; he likes animals, just calm down_, Faith said mentally. She looked at Bosco propped up in bed wearing bright orange scrubs and gray socks. His hair stuck out in every possible direction and he sported two days worth of scruff on his jaw. Faith thought he looked like an escapee from Rikers.

She sighed and set down her magazine. "Come on Bos, let's go for a walk. You've been watching too much TV this week, the doctor says you aught to be walking more."

Bosco waved her off, already engrossed in the next show, "Shhh, be quite! This ones got cheetahs and sloths! I hope that sloth kicks his ass!" Bosco grinned wickedly and griped the remote. The title of the show flashed across the screen: _When Cheetahs Attack_.

_That's it,_ she thought. Faith got up from her chair and ripped the remote from his hands. She walked out to the nurse's station and put it behind the desk. She came back into the room and stood over his bed. "You want the remote? Go get it."

"Faith, be quite they're about to show the sloth. It's cheetah ass-kickin' time!" he said excitedly. Faith reached up and turned off the television. Aghast, Bosco sat in bed wide eyed and open mouthed. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! THE SLOTH!" he screamed pointing to the TV.

"We're walking-now!" Faith commanded and pointed to the door.

"But the sloth!"

"NOW!"

Bosco grumbled obscenities under his breath and reached for his I.V. pole.

--------------------

"I'm tired," Bosco whined.

Faith checked her watch. There were only ten minutes left in the show and she knew that Bosco was only trying to get back to his room to watch it. If she was lucky she would be able to keep him walking until it ended. There was a marathon of _Animal Psychics_ coming on next; and it was the one show that he absolutely despised.

"Come on Bos, let's go outside and get some air," Faith said.

Bosco stopped in his tracks, which wasn't difficult considering how slow he was moving. "Faith, I know you're just trying to keep me from watching the show."

"Good, at least we know you're brain is functioning normally. Look Bosco, you need to walk and I'll probably end up strangling you if we go back to your room. Okay? Come on," she implored.

Bosco obliged her and shuffled gingerly towards the double sliding doors. Faith walked just behind him letting him set the pace. The doors opened with a mechanical click and the fresh night air settled around them like an invisible cloak. Bosco slowly wheeled his pole over to a bench that overlooked the hospital green. Faith sat quietly as he gradually lowered himself down. He let out a breath and angled his head upwards to the sky. The night was crisp and cool. The sky held no clouds and gave way to an impressive panoramic view of the stars. No two stars were alike; each unique in brightness and size. He saw the two Dippers and a few other well-known constellations that he couldn't name. Bosco titled his head towards Faith and observed her. She leaned her head against the cold stone wall behind them and looked up. She seemed mesmerized by the canopy of stars. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves and lightly blew strands of hair across her face. She reached up and tucked the locks behind her ear, revealing the smooth, milky skin on her neck. Captivated, Bosco held his breath as he watched, unable to tear his eyes away from her.

Unaware, she continued to gaze up at the heavens. "It's so fascinating you know? The stars are always there, but you don't really notice them. You're usually focused on something else down here, but when you finally look up it's breathtaking. It just makes me realize how much we take things for granted, you know? You don't realize how important some things are until they're not there anymore," Faith paused and waved her fingers through the air, "They're all up there, and it's like you could reach out and touch them, but they're so far away. It's so, so…" She said, struggling to find a word.

"Beautiful," Bosco breathed. Faith turned, suddenly feeling his eyes on her. Their eyes locked and they sat looking at one another. Bosco looked away first, realizing that he had been staring at her for so long that it was making him uncomfortable. As soon as he looked away from her eyes the feelings that had held him spellbound vanished. He shook himself, confused by the vague jumble of emotions that were wandering through him. Bosco frowned, wondering if he had just imagined it all and reached for his pole.

"Well," he said slowly moving to get up. "I think I'm gonna' call it a night."

Faith continued to sit and watched as he adjusted the cords attached to his hand.

"You gonna' be okay?" she asked.

Bosco nodded and turned his head towards the green. "Yeah, I'll be alright," he said and swiveled his head back to her. "So what, I'll see you Sunday?"

"Yeah, Sunday." Faith touched his hand briefly and smiled at him. She stood and walked towards the sliding doors and turned. "Oh and Bosco?"

"Hm?"

"Shave." With that, she turned and parted company.

--------------------

"Emily, take those eggs off the boil!" Faith called from the bathroom.

"Alright mom," Emily answered and sauntered over to the stove. After removing the pot from the stovetop, she opened the refrigerator and retrieved two brightly colored jars. She glanced at Charlie who was sitting quietly at the dinning table reading a comic book. "Jam or marmalade?" she inquired.

"Hmm…what kind of marmalade?" he asked.

"Grapefruit."

Charlie looked up from his comics and puckered his face, "Jam please."

Emily reached into the cabinet and pulled out three plates. She took the rest of the toast out of the toaster and spread jam on two slices and marmalade on the other four. After shelling the eggs and removing the blackened sausages from the frying pan, she divided everything into portions and placed then on the dishes.

Charlie looked up in disbelief as his sister set his plate in front of him. "What?" Emily asked.

"This is all I get?" Charlie questioned, gesturing to the plate. "I'm growing you know!" he said indignantly.

"Yeah, like a weed on speed; we know, we know," Emily said. She rolled her eyes and gave him her longest cut of sausage. Charlie smiled at his plate and immediately began to wolf down his food.

"Charlie, you're being rude! You should wait for mom," she instructed. Charlie ignored her and continued to cut into his breakfast. Emily leaned back in her chair and sighed dramatically, tired of his teenaged behavior. Sometimes she longed for the days when he was smaller and easier to control. She couldn't wait until he matured. Emily looked over her shoulder and saw her mother emerging from the bedroom. She smirked, knowing that he would get an earful.

Faith's stomach rumbled in hungry anticipation as she neared the table. She saw that her place had been set and smiled. Her mouth quickly turned down, however, when she laid eyes on her son. "Charlie, do we lock you up and neglect to feed you? I've asked you before not to start eating until everyone is sitting at the table. Don't be rude," Faith admonished. Charlie put his fork on the table and cast his eyes down in abashment.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Faith gave him another stern glance and sat down. She looked at her plate and watched as steam rose from her food in waves and wafted past her nose. It smelled wonderful. "Em, this is perfect! Thank you sweetie," she said delightedly.

"No problem mom," Emily replied, wearing a satisfied smile. She picked up her toast and grinned smugly at her brother.

Charlie scowled and waited for his mother to begin eating. As soon as her fork was in the air, he began inhaling his food again without further delay.

The food was delicious. Faith sipped her orange juice and glanced over at Charlie and then down to his empty plate. Charlie tapped his fork nervously against the table, looked from plate to plate, and hungrily licked his lips.

"Good lord," Faith muttered.

"Hey Charlie, I hear table leg's pretty tasty. Why don't you gnaw on that?" Emily suggested while taking slow deliberate bites from her sausage.

He frowned deeply and looked to his mother. "Mom are you gonna eat all your toast?" Faith looked at her plate. She really was going to eat all of it, but if giving some up meant placating his freakish hungry spells, then she would.

"No sweetie, you can have some," she said and handed him a slice. Charlie eagerly accepted, stuffed the entire slice into his mouth, and chewed ravenously. After a few seconds he suddenly paused. Charlie screwed up his face and gagged, swallowing the lot.

"UHGG! Grapefruit! Uck!" he sputtered and commenced to washing his mouth out with juice. Faith and Emily smiled at each other across the table. The two had always shared a fondness for the citrusy preserve.

"You okay there Charlie?" Faith asked biting back a smile. Charlie nodded and stared darkly at the offensive toast.

"So mom, what are we going to do today," Emily asked. Faith paused, surprised that her daughter actually _wanted_ to do something together.

"Well, I don't know. What would you like to do?"

"Let's go see Uncle Bosco!" Charlie exclaimed his mood instantly lighter.

"I don't know sweetie, I think we should just let him rest a bit okay?" Faith said, "Besides, don't you guys have homework? Your dad told me you've both got papers due on Monday."

"Mom, it's like Saturday! Homework is what Sunday's are for." Emily explained.

"Exactly," Charlie agreed. Faith looked at her children and raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Well, put your dishes away and let me finish eating. You two agree on what you wanna do."

Faith resumed eating as Emily and Charlie cleared the table. She soon stopped and watched the two of them in the kitchen bickering over where they would go, who they would see, what they'd eat for lunch. As she sat there listening to them, it occurred to her that this is what she missed the most. The noise, she missed the _sound_ of her family. The place had always been small, and had gotten even more cramped as they had grown older. She used to complain about them being too loud while she was sleeping, or Emily having her music cranked up beyond all reason. But that night when she came home, she knew they where gone even before she found the letter. There was no noise, not even the faint wheeze that Charlie made when he slept, nothing. It was like walking into a tomb.

She gazed at the two in the kitchen; Emily washing the dishes and Charlie drying them. Faith closed her eyes and absorbed the sound. She listened to their voices rising and falling, changing tempo, creating patterns that resonated within her mind. Soon it became a hum, a sweet melody of absolute serenity that meant only one thing…_home_.

"Mom?" Faith jumped slightly, startled from her thoughts. She looked up and saw Emily standing over her with a queer expression on her face. Charlie moved languidly in the background putting dishes back into their respective compartments.

"What?"

"Uh, we decided where we want to go."

"More like you decided," Charlie declared from the kitchen.

"Shut up Chaz. Anyway, we want to go to Soho!"

Faith sighed; she had utterly no desire in the world to go there. It was a cesspool of teenagers, tourists, and the wealthy. They would be there all day and would end up spending more money than they could afford. Faith never liked mixing with that crowd. They always made you feel like a poster child for the Salvation Army while they paraded about in Abercrombie and Gucci.

"Charlie, do you wanna go?" Faith questioned. She sincerely hoped he'd say no, that would make it two against one.

"Sure, I don't mind. They got some comic book stores, I think."

"Excellent! All of my friends have been except for me. Don't worry mom, I'm sure you'll like it. They've got like everything there!" Emily said jubilantly.

"Mmhm, can't wait," Faith deadpanned.

--------------------

Faith sank back into the couch and wearily rubbed her aching feet. It had been an absurdly long day, her back hurt, she smelled like Chinese food, and she couldn't remember the last time she had spent that much time walking. She loved her kids more than anything in this world, but for the love of God she would never set foot in that accursed place again. _Well, my wallets a hell of a lot lighter, but at least they're happy_, she thought.

Faith lounged in the darkness of her apartment working up the energy to move to her bed. The single lamp in the living area cast long, tired shadows across the room, barely giving off enough light with which to see. The kids were already asleep in their room, no doubt worn out from the arduous task of spending her money. Although it had been exhausting, Faith had enjoyed the time spent they'd spent together. She wondered if tomorrow would be as good as today. She glanced at the clock on the DVD player and noted that tomorrow had already begun. Faith groaned and slowly rose to her feet which stoutly protested movement of any kind.

She moved languorously down the hall, bound and pulled by an invisible tether to her bed. Before she realized she'd done it, she stopped and cracked the door open to the children's bedroom. She looked in as they slept, moving her eyes over their familiar forms and listened for their rhythmic breathing. It was a ritual she had performed countless times. Suddenly a cold hand crept over her heart and seized it. _Sweet Jesus, what if I loose them? I can't loose my babies God, I just can't! They're all I've got left._ Faith gripped the doorframe as a wave of terror threatened to buckle her knees. She had tried desperately to convince herself that although she and Fred were divorced it would still be okay. They would still manage to be a family. But as she looked in on them a cold reality began to seep into her bones. What if she really did loose them? Her chances for custody would only come through on a wing and a prayer, and it was starting to look as if it might not come through in time. _Please God, don't take them from me. I'll be better, I'll change, I'll do whatever you want me to…just don't take them._ A lonesome tear escaped a clouded eye. _Those are our kids. They need the both of us. God please, please don't break this family any more than it already is. I can't handle it…I don't want to be alone. _

Emily stirred in her sleep and sighed. Faith shook herself, took another quick glance, and gently closed the door. She made her way down the dark hall; it seemed more fitting in her mind to call it the lightless tunnel which never endeth, and stood stony faced in her bedroom. She stood clutching her purse and her sanity, trying to empty her mind of the morose thoughts which filled it.

Bosco's voice played over and over in her head like a disc on repeat. _'You can't give up Faith… you've got to believe that things will get better. If you don't then you'll loose everything… You can't give up Faith…'_

"Okay…okay," she breathed. She stood there breathing in and out, replaying the words, convincing herself that she could still ward off her fears.

Faith changed into her night clothes and sat in the middle of her bed. She pulled her knees up to her chest and linked her arms around them. It had taken her a few months to work up the courage to even move into this uncharted territory. For fifteen years it had been _their_ bed. Faith still didn't feel comfortable sleeping on his side. So for now she was content enough to sit in the middle. Minutes later her sleep addled brain lulled her into a dreamless sleep.

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"Boscorelli." Bosco stirred sleepily and told the voice to go away. No such luck. "Boscorelli!" a deep voice boomed. Bosco started and jerked his head from the pillow. It took him a moment to realize that he wasn't in the barracks, but in a hospital. Bosco scanned the room slowly and laid eyes on the owner of the voice. Bosco moaned, it was none other than Nurse Ratchet a.k.a Billemena Carter. Billemena stood six feet tall and plenty inches wide. Her skin was a smooth, deep mahogany that gave her an ageless quality. Her dark brown eyes sparkled in amusement and malice. She smiled sweetly at him, revealing a set of perfectly straight teeth which were impossibly white. She swayed her massive hips and cocked her head to the side in an inquisitive gesture.

"Wassa matta boy, you tired? Oh well, you know what time it is. It's peel time. So c'mon over here and take your peels!" She said smiling that sweet smile.

Bosco knew what time it was, and it was too damn early for pill time. "Huhrrr…" Bosco frowned; his throat was dry and thick with sleep.

"Aw, you need some water? Here you go Boscorelli. Now you just move on over here and take your peels. Hurry it up 'cause I don't got all day!" Billemena slammed down a cup of pills followed by water contained in the smallest cup Bosco had ever seen. He didn't even think they made them that small. Billemena folded her arms across her ample bosom and raised her eyebrows impatiently. "Well?" She asked.

Bosco looked at her disbelievingly. This meant only one thing; she still hadn't gotten over it. _Jesus it was just a slip of the tongue!_ It wasn't his fault she was into false advertising. Two weeks ago Maurice and Billemena had their first meeting.

"_Hello, I'm Nurse Carter. How're you?" Bosco was astounded when he first saw her. He had never seen a woman of her height and girth with such a gorgeous face. _

"_Fine," he replied._

"_Good, glad to hear it. Well, you're almost through the last hoop. Today's the day we take out those I.V.'s."_

_Bosco was elated. Moving around with those things stuck in his arm was quite simply, a bitch._

"_Great, that's good! Means I'm almost outta' here right?" He said excitedly. He couldn't wait to tell Faith._

"_That's right, ya almost most home Mr. Boscorelli!" She leaned over and gently removed the medical tape from the back of his hand. Her long fingers firmly pressed a piece of gauze over the needles. "Now hold still." _

"_So, when're you due?" he asked pointing to her scrub jacket. The jacket was a myriad of blue capped storks toting around fat, naked babies of every conceivable color._

"_Ex-cuse me?" Nurse Carter asked. Her eyes bored dangerously into his, obviously waiting for him to dig himself deeper. He didn't disappoint her._

"_What, you're pregnant right? I mean you're wearing you know…and you're… you know…" Bosco illustrated his point by approximating her width with his hands. He dropped his hands back into his lap and ask matter-of-factly "So what, are you just fat?" _

_Billemena pulled her lip back in an unsettling snarl and actually growled. Bosco swore he could see a sign that read Now Entering China._

"_Hold still," she said in a menacing_ _whisper. Suddenly aware of the pressure on his hand Bosco tried to recoil. Unfortunately his wrist was locked in the vice gripe of Billemena_

"_No! What're you doing?! NO…AHHHHHH!"_

Bosco rubbed his sore hand absently. Nope, she definitely had not gotten over it.

--------------------

"You ready Maurice?"

"Ma you asked me that ten times already. I'm fine and I'm ready to get the hell out of here. Okay?" Bosco said. He had stayed up all night because he was too anxious to sleep. His duffel bag sat next to his feet zipped up and ready to go.

"Maurice, I just don't want you to leave before you're rea-"

"I _am_ ready Ma! I just wish the damned doctor would stop takin' his sweet time and sign the damn papers! What is taking so long?" Bosco huffed.

"Oh I don't know sweetie, maybe it has something do with the fact that you keep biting everyone's head off," Rose suggested. Bosco rolled his eyes and sighed irritably.

Today was the big day, the day he had been waiting for a terribly long time. He would finally stop smelling those horrible smells that mark every hospital: urine, blood, medicine, plastic, and a mixture of that terrible, awful crap that passed for food. Hell, he probably smelled like the hospital now. He didn't know how people could stand to be around him. Maybe that's why they were taking so long. Soon the doctor, trailed by a nurse with a wheelchair, entered the room.

"Alright Mr. Boscorelli, here are your papers you're all set to go."

"Good."

"Now, we've been through this, but I just want to reiterate that it is imperative that you continue your physical therapy. Names and numbers are in your folder. It's important that you meet with them as soon as possible," the doctor warned.

"Sure, you don't have to worry about me Doc. I'll make them sick of looking at me!" Bosco chirped.

"Somehow I don't doubt that," the doctor said under his breath. "Alright well you're all set. Hope you've had a nice stay, and good luck with everything." He extended his hand and Bosco pumped it eagerly.

"Thanks."

The doctor exited the room finally rid of his worst patient. Later that night, he and the nurses would celebrate and swap horror stories.

Bosco smiled and looked at his mother. "Alright, let's get out of this joint!"

"Okay, Mr. Boscorelli, hop right in," a high voice said.

Bosco wheeled around and stared at the nurse as if he had just realized she was standing there- with a wheelchair no less.

"Listen lady, I don't need a wheel chair so I'm not hoppin' anywhere." Bosco retorted.

Rose rolled her eyes and touched Bosco's shoulder. "I'm going to bring the car around so meet me in front. Play nice." As she walked down the hall she could still hear the nurse and Bosco arguing over whether or not he would be wheeled. _Can't do anything with that boy._

In the end the nurse had won. Rose pulled under the awning and discovered Bosco sitting in the wheelchair with his duffel in his lap looking very disgruntled. The nurse however, stood proudly over him looking as if her team had just won the playoffs. Bosco stood up and shot the nurse a dirty look. He moved slowly to the car and tossed his bag in the back seat.

"Let's go," he grunted.

"Buckle up Maurice. You don't want to end up back here cause you flew through the windshield."

"Nag, nag, nag."

Rose slapped his shoulder gently. "I'm serious Maurice, put your seatbelt on."

"Fine, now will you please take me home?"

"With pleasure."

--------------------

Bosco pushed open the door to his apartment and stood in the doorway. His mother huffed impatiently behind him and bustled her way through, setting his duffel bag by the couch as she went. Rose pulled two glasses from the cabinet and tossed in a few iced cubes. She paused and looked up at her son. "Well, are you going to stand there all day or are you comin in?"

Bosco realized that his mouth was open and he was still standing in the doorway. He clapped his mouth shut and stepped tentatively through and into the tiny foyer.

"Maurice, shut the door. I take it from your slack jaw that you like it?" Rose said smiling. She waved him over to the small kitchen table and set down a glass of water adjacent to her. "Come and sit with your old mother." Rose sat and smiled as Bosco gaped at his surroundings, swiveling his head this way and that, and shuffled slowly to the table. He stood behind the chair resting his hands on top of it.

"You're not old," he said absently.

Rose took a sip of her drink sighed patiently. "Will you sit down? I'm breaking my neck trying to look at you. Sit down." Bosco sat down and smiled. Rose felt her heart lighten at the all too rare sight.

"Wow," he said pointing to the vase. "Bet that cost a fortune." The vase, blown by hand and dyed a light, see through turquoise sat primly in the middle of the table. The sunlight filtered in through the body of the vase and cast crystal blue light down the center of the room. He could see through to the diagonally cut stems which led up to their more impressive outgrowth. The flowers quite literally sprang out from their container and seemed to dwarf the table. The arrangement was unlike any he had ever seen; giant daffodils, watsonias, freesias, lilies, and more (not that he could name any of them). He looked at the giant bouquet and knew two things: one that this was the most beautiful and colorful display he had ever seen, not to mention that he didn't even like flowers. And two that if there were ever mad scientists running around pumping flowers full of steroids, then this was definitely the product.

Rose smiled, her eyes twinkling in the light; she was enjoying his reaction. _And she though he'd be angry, ha! A mother knows!_ Rose clucked silently.

"You missed something Maurice." She nodded to an envelope neatly propped up against the vase. It had his name writ in a script he knew like the back of his hand. The sides of Bosco's mouth twitched as he reached for the cream colored envelope.

"What now?" he asked trying to sound annoyed, but Rose knew better. Bosco tore open the envelope hoping that he didn't look too eager. He pulled out a small letter and glanced at his mother who smiled knowingly at him over her glass. Bosco snorted at her and began reading the note.

_Bosco,_

_Welcome home! I'm sorry I couldn't be there today I really wanted to. I got the flowers as a part of my apology. I know that you don't even like flowers, but I couldn't resist! They're the most cheerful and unusual bouquet that I have ever seen. Anyway, as you can see we've changed the apartment around a little. Really we just did some spring cleaning because you left it in such a mess and you're cleaning skills are truly lacking! Hope you don't mind, everything is mostly where it should be. There's fresh food in the refrigerator and clean sheets on the bed, among other things._ _I'm sure you're tired so I'll keep it short. Don't forget to take your medicine and call the physical therapist _(Bosco rolled his eyes)_. I'll be by tomorrow, if you're up to it we'll go out for lunch._

_See you then._

_- Faith_

"Some spring cleaning huh?" Bosco said looking around. Spring cleaning indeed. He had never seen this place so _clean_ in his life. He could see his reflection _everywhere_. Bosco sniffed the air and smiled--it smelled lemony fresh. He felt as if he'd walked into another universe. When he had left for Mikey's funeral the place was a dump. He had been so stressed during that period that he hadn't even thought to pick up after himself. He was sure that after months of rotting food in the refrigerator, dirty dishes in the sink, and his bathroom--well let's just say it wasn't presentable on a good day, everything was a total wreck.

"Ma, this is…I…" Bosco gestured around him and looked at her. "Thank you."

Rose smiled and caressed his cheek tenderly. "You're welcome baby." Bosco gently took her hand and kissed her knuckles. He looked around him guessing that they had been at this for weeks. They had done this just for him to welcome him home. Bosco didn't like feeling mushy, but he knew he was loved. And for the first time in a while, with the sun diffusing its luminous rays of white and crystal blue light into his home, he was happy.

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More Chapters Coming Your Way! Comments? Please Review, Thanks!


	5. The Clockwork

Author's Note:

Hi folks,

First and foremost I would like to thank those of you who have reviewed this work! Before writing this I would read people's fiction without reviewing; it was a rare day when I would do otherwise. I would think 'Meh, they've got tons of reviews' or 'Surely _someone_ will review their fic…well, on to the next one!' But now I know how nice it is to actually have someone do that for you, and I truly appreciate the time that you all took to do it (hint hint). So thanks. Before we move onto a summary for this piece, let me say something about the last. I wrote the last chapter before watching the episode where Bosco is released from the hospital. I thought that it would be easy to watch the episodes and not be so influenced by them that they would affect my work. But it's a lot harder to do than I thought.

So, I posted chapter 4 and _then_ watched the hospital episode. Needless to say, I was pleased and a little disturbed by how similar they were. Maybe that means I know their characters well. Who knows? But let me say this, in the shot when his bandage fell off, people I swear to you, the _Phantom of the Opera _theme started playing in my head! I uttered a loud, colorful curse that would shame my mother, and quickly jerked away from the screen. I want to assure you here and now that _my_ Bosco DOES NOT look like the walking dead. Let me also say that I know he got shot in the face, (actually, the bullet entered his neck and exited his face—from an odd/impossible angle where the shooter was standing and he was falling sideways on his right. Now ask yourselves, how can a bullet enter your neck as you go _down_ and then exit_ up_ through your face? But hey, it's all TV and who's really paying attention, right?) and yes skin does get blown off, but folks, you don't leave the hospital looking like you've had your face soaked in brine. Okay? That doesn't mean that his face isn't noticeably scarred, just not so much that plastic surgeons would cry if they saw him.

Now in this piece we follow Faith from the end of her shift at the 55 and then to Bosco's apartment where some disturbing events take place. It took me over a month to write this and I'm actually really pleased with it. For me this chapter flowed much easier than the others, because the apartment scene is actually where my story originally _began_ in my head; this is the strong point, the core of it all. I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers,

V

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V. The Clockwork

"Hey guys."

Sully looked up at Faith winding her way down the stairs to the front desk and smiled. "Well hello sunshine, what brings you down to the netherworld?"

"Works done, we're through for the day. Now I get to go shopping."

"Shopping, you get paid that much more than we do?" Ty asked incredulously.

"Please. I'm going _grocery_ shopping. So, what're you two doing in this late?"

Sully glanced at Davis and smirked. "Oh us? Well we've had the pleasure of bringing in a skell for a misdemeanor, something incredibly stupid. Like what was it, walking through the store eating a box of chips without paying or something?"

"Doughnuts Sully, doughnuts," Ty said.

"Yeah somethin stupid. Anyhow, we get up on the guy and he just starts raving."

Ty grinned and began waving his hands through the air muttering, "I ain't eat no dough-nits! I ain't eat no dough-nits! Dough-nits, dough-nits (continued jabbering nonsensically)!" Faith chuckled at the imitation.

"Yeah, and get this, the guy's _covered_ in powdered sugar! I mean it's all over his mouth, on his hands, his shirt! It's coming off him in clouds!" Sully exclaimed. Faith and Ty laughed.

"No kidding, a regular crazy," she said.

"Aw man, that's not even the best part. Tell her Sully, tell her."

"Right, so I walk up to him, you know give 'im the old '_we're on your side/you're perfectly sane-but come with us_' bit. Then the guy reaches in his bag and pulls out a—"

"Dude pulls out—"

"You wanna tell the story Davis?" Sully gruffed.

"No no, go right ahead Sully. My lips, they are sealed," Ty said drawing a finger across his lips.

Sully turned back to Faith and shook his head. "The guy pulls out a mouse and—"

"A mouse!" Ty balked, "Sully that thing was a prehistoric animal dawning back before span of time! Sucker had fangs Faith; real, bucktooth bite-you-in-the-ass fangs!" Ty said earnestly. He looked down at Sully glowering at him and again drew a finger across his lips, "Sealed."

"It had fangs? What'd he do throw it at you?" Faith asked.

"No, he then produced three dime bags of coke and one bag of weed from another pocket. He yelled something about not charging _him_ with possession and proceeded to stuff the bags down the mouse's throat." Faith raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"So he choked on the bags right?" she questioned.

"See you'd think this would kill the little bastard, but he's the biggest sonuvabitch you've ever seen, and just swallows the bags like they're nothin."

"What did you do?"

By now other cops had gathered around the trio as Sully told the story. "So the guy is obviously resisting and I don't want to get near him with that thing, so we mace 'im and he drops the mouse. The mouse takes off down the bakery isle and Davis goes after him." A rumble of laughter went through the group at the thought of Davis running after a mouse.

Ty smirked and nodded to the small crowd. "Yeah I know. So me and my big assed self start chasing Saber Tooth Mickey through the store. I'm hoping nobody gets in the way 'cause I can just see blood and limbs flying everywhere. Finally the thing runs into a soup display and knocks it over. The cans cracked him on the skull and knocked him out. And I'm happy to say that because of our valiant work, that no one was hurt."

Some of the cops cheered and clapped spouting _way to go's _and _my hero_.

Faith laughed and leaned on the front desk. "So what's happening now?"

Sully glanced at the clock and shook his head. "So apparently it's against the law to cut open the animal to get the drugs, ASPCA pet rules or some crap. So now we get to wait because as it turns out, Mickey's constipated."

"I wonder why," she said dryly. "The joys and wonders of being a cop."

"Yeah, don't you love it," Sully said smiling. Faith pushed herself off the desk and patted his arm.

"I'm off, have a goodnight you guys," she said giving them a brief wave.

"Night," they called after her. Smiling, Faith walked out into the night.

­­-------------------------

"Bos?" He could hear her through the walls, pounding on his door and calling for him. "Bosco are you there?" More pounding. It seemed to match the throb in his skull. _Go away_, he thought. He lay curled up on the couch, rapped comfortably in his darkness. All he had wanted was to sleep, and pure, lifeless sleep had finally come. _Pound Pound Pound_ Bosco could feel the blood in his head jack hammering in time with her fist; his hard won sleep suddenly out of reach—again. He didn't hear her say that she was letting herself in, but was not at all surprised when her voice sounded closer and clearer.

"Bosco?" Faith called out quietly. As the light filtered into the small apartment she stifled a gasp. _What's been happening in here?_ she wondered. Bosco lifted his head slowly, noting how the weight of it seemed to have doubled over the last few days. He opened his eyes and immediately regretted doing so when the orange glow from the hallway sent bright shards of pain underneath his brow.

Faith heard him moan and timidly asked if he was alright. "Shut the door," he said irritably. Seconds later they were both engulfed in the darkness. Bosco, accustomed to the lack of light, welcomed it. Faith shifted the bag of groceries uneasily in her arms as he worked himself into a sitting position. He leaned over his lap and kneaded his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"Bosco are you alr—"

"I'm fine," he said tersely. He didn't bother to look up. In fact, Bosco didn't even look in her direction. Faith could feel the hot, stickiness in the room, could taste the bitterness of confinement in the air, and chose not to move from her spot in front of the door. "I'm fine. I was just," he sighed, "sleeping."

Beat.

"Whadda you need Faith?" he asked casting a sidelong glance at her feet.

Faith inhaled quickly and again shifted the bag of groceries in her arms. "Well, I've been calling you for days and you haven't answered—"

"I know."

"—so I wanted to come by and check on you. I brought you some groceries too," she lifted the large brown bag slightly in his direction. "Bos…are you sure you're okay?"

Bosco turned his head away from her as if stung by her statement. "I don't _need_ you to check on me!" he said through clenched teeth. He noted her silence and knew that it had come out wrong, as usual. But he didn't care. Hell, he was tired wasn't he?

Beat.

Faith inhaled again. "That's not what I meant. I just haven't seen you in a while and I know you hate grocery shopping, so I just brought you some stuff." She paused for a moment ready to launch into conversation, but he cut her off.

"Look Faith," he said standing. "I appreciate the thought, but it's really late and I need some sleep. So thank you for coming by, but I'm kinda tired so…" Bosco looked at her, expecting that she take her cue and leave. Instead Faith narrowed her eyes and walked into the kitchen. She flicked on the light and set the bag down on the table, pushing aside bottles of beer and garbage aside as she went. She turned her back to him and took the groceries out of the bag and set them onto the filthy table. Bosco let out an exasperated sigh and hung his head back on his shoulders.

"Faith." Faith didn't answer him and began putting the food into the cabinets. "_Faith_," Bosco said drawing the word out irritably.

She turned to him and stood with one hand on her hip and a can of soup in the other. "You haven't been going to physical therapy." It wasn't a question. Bosco looked momentarily shocked, but recovered quickly.

"What?" he asked flatly.

"You haven't been seeing your physical therapist and you've missed most of the check-up appointments with your doctors."

Bosco moved closer to her. "You've been checkin in on me?"

"Bosco why've you stopped going?"

Bosco moved closer still until they were a few feet apart and with great difficulty, he managed not to let his lips curl back into a snarl. "You've been goin behind my back and checkin on me?" he asked disbelievingly.

Faith dropped her head and stared at her feet. "I wasn't going behind your back, Bosco. I just wanted to see how you were doing…you don't talk to me anymore. I had called your doctor and asked how you were coming along. She told me she hadn't seen you for weeks."

"You know what Faith?" he said pointing an accusing finger at her. "It's none of your goddamned business."

"Bosco—"

"Get out. Leave right now," he said pointing to the door.

Faith stared at him with her mouth open in surprise; he'd never told her to leave before. She was disheartened that their relationship had come to this. Faith masked her emotions and tried to exude an air of confidence and control. He was still pointing to the door when she said no.

"Faith, get the hell out of my place."

"Not until you tell me why you've quit," she said defiantly. Bosco wheeled towards her with eerie speed. He moved so quickly and so close that when the air rushed past her face she nearly took a step back. She had to struggle not to let the fear show in her eyes as his hot, liquored breath swirled in the compressed air between them.

"_What did you say to me_?" he asked in a monotone whisper.

Faith felt her hands begin to tremble. She quickly sucked in a chest full of air and stepped close enough to him so that their noses where almost touching. "I said why did you _quit_?"

For what seemed like an eternity they stood as they were, both breathing like bulls. Faith could smell the liquor and body odor rolling off of him in waves. The urge to step away from him was strong, but she kept her ground and returned his glare. Faith saw something flicker behind his eyes and his face slackened.

"I didn't quit," he said quietly, almost dejectedly. Faith didn't change her hardened expression as she waited for him to continue. But instead of going on, Bosco dropped his eyes and began to turn away from her. "I'm goin to bed…do whatever you want," he said dismissively.

He left Faith in the kitchen, no doubt wondering why he had backed down so suddenly. The throbbing in his head had reached an all time high and he just didn't have the energy anymore. Hell, he said he was tired didn't he? Bosco slowly dragged himself back into the living room for another attempt at ever elusive sleep. Just as he reached his dark sanctuary, he heard her spit out his name.

"Don't you walk away from me, coward." Bosco turned to her with a stunned and hurt expression on his face. _Coward?_ he thought.

"What, did it get too hard for you Bosco? Is that why you copped out?" she asked angrily.

Bosco opened his mouth and then closed it, too shocked to speak. But as usual, it didn't take him long to find his voice. "You don't know what the hell you're talkin about Faith," he said warningly.

Faith shrugged and threw her arms up. "So what then Bosco?"

A mixture of emotions crossed his face as he struggled to find the words. "I couldn't do it alright? You wanna break me down?" He moved closer again, "What's the point, huh? I ain't never gonna be the same so why bother? You tell me, why shou—"

"Oh, I'm so _sick_ of this bullshit!"

Bosco blinked.

"You wanna know what Bos? Your _really_ are a coward! You sit in here with your drinks, half tanked by day, full gone by night. And then have the nerve to feel sorry for yourself." He stood silently as she berated him. "You couldn't do it? Bosco you didn't even try."

Bosco's eyes widened at the accusation. He couldn't believe what she was saying. Of course he'd tried. _Of course I tried!_ he thought. "Who the hell are you to judge me! What the hell do you know? You don't know _SHIT_!" he screamed. "You don't know how it feels! You don't know how hard it was goin there and not getting _any_ better. You don't know a goddamned thing." Bosco pointed a threatening finger in her direction. "So don't you _dare_ tell me I didn't try," he hissed.

Faith sneered and eyed him sardonically. "Right, 'cause you're the only one who's ever been _shot_." Bosco quickly looked at his feet. "Yeah Bos, you're the only one who's got dealt some shitty cards. Maybe during your pity party you forgot, but I was paralyzed. I COULDN'T _WALK_ FOR MONTHS! SO DON'T PLAY THAT CARD WITH ME!" By now Faith was breathing hard. "You think I don't know how it is? I know better than anyone!"

"It's not the same Faith." Bosco said shaking his head. "It's not the same."

"You keep tellin yourself that Bos, but it's all the same."

"Look at my face Faith."

Faith waved him off and sighed in exasperation, "Aw God Bosco, please."

Bosco lifted his head and stalked towards her. "Look at my face Faith."

"Will you just—"

"LOOK-AT-MY-FACE!" he raged. "LOOK AT MY FAAACE! LOOK AT IT!" Bosco ripped the small bandage off of his cheek and flung it at her. "LOOK AT IT!" he bellowed, his voice cracking under the strain. "You take a good look at this face and tell me it's all the same."

Faith was momentarily startled, but her anger quickly took over. "Look at what Bosco? That scar?" she asked pointing. "You got shot. Your face got scarred. Yeah, it sucks. _So what_? Life goes on and believe it or not Bosco, you don't look like the Phantom of the Opera, but you're sure turning into him."

Bosco shook his head and looked away from her. "You don't get it, I didn't expect you to."

Faith laughed harshly. "Don't get what Bosco? You don't think I know that you're afraid of what people think now when they see you? You don't expect me to understand that you're embarrassed about how you look; that you're self-conscious? Or that you're afraid that women won't find you attractive anymore? You know what I see? I see a man who doesn't realize that he's letting these things _cripple_ him.

"But you're _not_ crippled Bosco. They called you 'Super cop' 'cause everything used to come so easy to you; you never really had to try to be good at what you did. Well guess what? Now you're just gonna to have to work harder than you've ever had in your life. And you're right Bosco, this situation is different," Bosco looked up. "Getting shot made you normal, like the rest of us."

Bosco stared at her with ghostly eyes and slowly backed himself against the wall. For several long moments he was completely silent. When he finally spoke, it was only in a sliver of a whisper. "I don't know what to do, Faith. It's like I can't do anything anymore."

Faith moved close to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "The first thing you have to do is stop telling yourself that. You have to accept that getting back to where you were is a vertical climb and it's gonna to take all you've got. Do you remember what you told me Bos?" Bosco looked at her somberly and shook his head. "You told me that if I wanted my life to look up, then I had to believe that everything was going to be alright. And so far that's been working out. Now that's some sound advice that you need to take for yourself.

"Bosco, I need you to know that you're not in this alone. I'm here, so talk to me; don't shut me out. If you need someone to be at those appointments with you, I'm there. If you need someone to work out with, I'm there. If you need anything at all Bosco, talk to _me_. Bos, I'm here and I'm going to make sure that you don't give up. You were right, givin up's not in me, and it isn't in you either. All you have to do is try and the rest will work itself out."

After a few moments up silence, Bosco tipped his head back and stared up at the ceiling. He balled his hands into fists and beat them a few times against the wall behind him. Faith listened his irregular breathing and guessed that he was probably trying not to cry.

"I'm scared," he whispered. Faith knew that it must have hurt all of his pride to admit that out loud, let alone to himself. He looked down at his feet and she saw that his cheeks were indeed wet. "What if…what if I don't get any better Faith?" he asked, his voice cracking. "What if this is it? What am I gonna do? _What am I gonna do_?"

"Oh Bosco," Faith said and pulled him into her arms. She held him tight and rubbed his back as he cried. Slowly Bosco began to sink towards the floor and inadvertently pulled her with him. Faith sat back against the living room wall and listened to the sound of his sounds, muffled against her neck.

"Shhhh, it'll be alright Bos. You're gonna to be alright," she murmured while gently stoking his back. She continued to comfort him and the two friends sat like that for a long while as he wept. After a time, she realized that he had stopped crying and had fallen asleep. She lifted her cheek off of his head and softly called his name.

"Bosco...Bos?"

"Hmm?" he asked and stirred against her.

"C'mon Bos, let's get you to bed," she said. "C'mon." She moved him gently and stood up. "C'mon Bos get up."

"Mmm, comin." He grunted and moaned sleepily as she pulled him to his feet. Faith looked him over and decided that he looked as if a he'd been hit by a truck. His eyes were red and puffy, his hair stood on end, and it didn't look as though he had shaved in God knew when.

Slowly he began moving back to the trash covered couch. _God I could sleep like a tonna bricks_, he thought. _Maybe I should have nervous breakdowns more often_. Before he could throw himself on the mercy of the cushions, he felt a warm hand wrap around his wrist. Bosco sluggishly turned his head wondering why in the hell he wasn't drooling on his couch already.

Faith had to smile at the bemused look on his face. "Uh-uh. You need to sleep in a bed."

"Whaaa?" Bosco mumbled, his shoulders drooping. His head already felt light and zippy from the cry and lack of any true sleep.

"You need to sleep in a bed Bosco," she repeated saying each word slowly. "That couch's doin you no good. Now c'mon, move it."

Bosco released a long, tired sigh and allowed himself to be dragged away from his hitherto sanctuary, and down the hall. Amazingly enough, the further away they moved from the living area the cleaner it became. When they reached his bedroom, with Faith leading, it looked as if it hadn't been lived in for quite awhile. The bed, in the corner of the room, had actually been made—although it was sloppily done. Faith walked over to the Chester drawers and ran a finger over the surface, noting the accumulation of dust. She looked up into the mirror and saw Bosco propped against the door frame watching her. With the small amount of light coming from the kitchen behind him, he almost looked nothing more than a shadow. Returning his gaze in the mirror, she asked him why he hadn't been staying in the room.

Bosco, or rather the shadow of Bosco, shrugged. Faith nodded and decided they'd revealed enough of themselves for one night.

She walked towards the bed and beckoned him over. As she sat down on the edge, she noticed a small glimmer of blue next to her feet. Looking down she smiled sadly. There, sitting in the corner wilted and dead, was what was left of the enchanting bouquet that she had bought him as a welcome-home gift. In a far corner in her mind, a small voice wondered if he had left this room and his hope when the bouquet finally succumbed to its slow death.

Bosco walked around to the other side and pulled the covers back. He wearily slid under them and sighed in relief.

"Bos?"

"Humph?" he asked and turned towards her on his side.

"When you get up in the morning, I want you to take a shower, put on some fresh clothes, and eat something. Not junk food, and no beer, but real food."

Bosco frowned and looked up at her. He had no real food; all he _had_ was beer and junk. Faith realized what he was thinking and raised her eyebrows.

"Bos, I brought you groceries tonight, remember?"

"Oh yah, mmhmm."

"So shower, eat, and _then_ you need to clean up. I hate to be the one to tell you this," she leaned in confidentially, "but you're livin in a sty. Ladies don't like sty's Bos. So when you're good and ready, I want you to call me and I'll come over and help you clean up. Okay?"

"You don't have to do that," he said. Bosco was slightly—_very_ embarrassed that she had seen him like this. He didn't want her to have to clean through his shit to top it off.

She smiled. "Bos, I'm _going_ to be here tomorrow whether you like it or not." Faith paused and looked down at him. Beard and scars aside, he looked like himself again; young and handsome. She lightly ran her fingers through his hair and placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Alright, I'm gonna go," she said and got up. Quickly Bosco reached out and grabbed her hand. She looked down at him confused. He lay in bed with her hand in his grip, staring at her fiercely. He felt weak, he felt exhausted, and ashamed, but most of all, he was terribly lonely. Faith looked into his eyes and saw how they burned with what he could not say. _Stay!_ they screamed.

She considered him only for a second and then gently shook off his hand. Again she sat on the edge of the bed, this time leaning over to take off her shoes. She laid back into the pillows and stared at the ceiling for several moments, all the while feeling Bosco's eyes boring into her. She rolled over on her side and scooted closer to him.

Faith could see the turmoil of emotions in his eyes as they faced one another. "Close your eyes," she murmured. She delicately brushed his forehead with the tips of her fingers and his eyes fluttered closed. She began gently raking her nails across his scalp and through his hair. Bosco sighed in ecstasy and leaned into her touch. Within a few minutes he was in a deep sleep.

She watched his chest rising and falling and realized how similar it was to his being in the coma. The only difference was that she _knew_ he was going to wake up, and when he did he would be alright. Maybe he was a little worse for wear, but alive and kicking just the same. Faith ran her thumb across his eyebrow and he mumbled something in his sleep. She tucked her hand beneath her head and soon her own eyes began to close. She didn't even realize that she had fallen asleep until the morning came.

---------------------

It was the light that woke him. It was bright, it was orange, and it was coursing through the window. It beat against his eyelids, forcing its way into his dream, and gently yanked him away. Bosco opened his eyes and blinked at the ceiling. He yawned and stretched, briefly wondering what had brought him to his bed—at least until his hand brushed against her elbow. Bosco turned his head to look at her and smiled.

"Humph!" he chuckled. She was curled up on her side facing him. She hadn't gotten under the covers and he wondered if she always slept in that position or if she was just cold. Her hands were tucked under her cheek in a child's prayer-like gesture, with her elbows pointing dangerously close to his head. The light accentuated her features and erased the delicate worry lines that were beginning to appear on her face. Her hair seemed to glow and Bosco felt incredibly stupid for thinking that she looked like an _angel_o.

But she must be, because she stayed with him. He couldn't think of a single person who would do that; even his mother would only take so much from him. Bosco looked back at the ceiling and what a miracle—his headache was gone! He swore that sucker had been pounding nonstop for weeks. It was a new day and he felt more like himself again. He sat up and swung his legs over the bed and placed his bare feet on the cool, wooden floor. He sat there for a moment, drumming his fingers quietly against the mattress, and then stood. As he moved it seemed as like every joint in his body was taking turns popping. Bosco paused and looked sharply to the figure lying on his bed, knowing with a certainty that his body's rusty salute to the morning would surely wake her. Yet, she did not stir.

He padded softly to the bathroom and closed the door. _Take a shower, huh?_ he thought. He sniffed under his shirt and wrinkled his nose in agreement. He guessed his breath didn't smell any better. He flossed and brushed his teeth before stepping into tub. How great it felt to finally scrub away the layers that seemed to weigh him down. Stepping out of that shower made him feel like a new, and undoubtedly fresher, man. Bosco wrapped a towel around his waist and faced himself in the mirror. He needed to shave badly.

He looked down and sighed all the while knowing that he was avoiding it. _Just look it at_, he thought. His gaze returned to the mirror and Bosco forced himself to focus on the small, disfiguring scar on his right cheek. _Just look at it and accept it. You have to move on man. _He gripped the sink basin and stared at himself for a long while. He studied the scar and memorized every detail. He took in the small pocks lining the wound, the pink discoloration of the scar tissue, and the deeper scars of the still unhealed flesh. Although he was still self-conscious, he actually felt better about it. _Guess it'll take some time_, he thought.

Bosco finally picked up his razor and began to shave. He was careful not to nick himself, and even more careful about shaving around the wound. He finished up and placed a clean band-aid on his cheek. "Braaand spankin new," he chirped inspecting his work. Quietly, he eased his way back into the bedroom to retrieve clean underwear, a t-shirt, and a pair of jeans. He moved back into the bathroom and emerged shortly after, dressed. Bosco walked down the hall and into the living room. Standing there in the mouth of the hallway with his hands on his hips, he surveyed the mess.

He moved to the windows in the living room and pulled up the blinds. The window sill was a little rusted and he grunted with the effort of yanking it open. His damp hair blew back from his forehead as the fresh, spring air (laced with pollen, of course) whistled softly into the room. It had been a long while since his place had seen any natural light, and Bosco noticed that his 'sty' didn't look quite as bad in the brightness. He moved into the kitchen and grimaced at the sight of it. With all the crumbs, rotting food and dirty dishes he was genuinely surprised that rats and roaches weren't walking through the place like they paid the rent. Bosco reached under the sink, all the while praying that some disgruntled, furry little animal with fangs wouldn't take his hand off, and pulled out the trash bags. He shook a bag open and swept all of the contents on the table into it.

"Hey," a husky voice said. Bosco turned around, startled. "I'm surprised you're up, it's still kinda early," she said yawning.

Bosco watched as Faith stretched and leaned against the door frame. Her hair was tousled and her clothes were wrinkled, but with that ever-present light framing her she still looked like an _angelo_.

"What?" she asked. "Why're you lookin at me like that?"

"Nothin. Well I'd offer you some breakfast but um…" he smiled a little embarrassed.

"Don't be silly," she said pushing off the door frame, "all I need is some coffee and I'm ready to roll. So, you sleep alright?"

Bosco gave her a crooked smile, "Yeah, I surprised myself by sleeping through your snores."

"Bosco, I don't _snore_. Just because you're so loud you wake yourself up doesn't mean that it's me."

"Yeah, whateva you need to tell yourself Faith."

She snorted and pushed past him. In truth, Bosco really _did _snore and on occasion he was known to wake himself up because of the noise. Startled out of sleep, he would turn around and blame the person nearest him, which was generally Faith. She, as with many other aspects of their relationship, bore this with quiet patience; personally humored by the ill moods of his own making.

"You do have coffee don't you?" she asked and rummaged through the cabinets.

"Nah, but I got some tea. 'S'in the one on your left."

Faith pulled out a dusty box and looked at him quizzically. "Herbal tea?"

Bosco did a double take and groaned. "It was _just_ a fluke. I picked up the wrong box. I-I was tryin to get some instant coffee."

"Yeah, uh-huh. It helped you sleep didn't it?"

"Whateva."

"Yep, remember when I told you that drinking _herbal tea_ helped me to relax and you laughed at me?"

"I did _not_ laugh at you. It was just a fluke, leave it alone."

Faith grinned mischievously and waggled the box in front of his face. "So, tell me Bosco, did you take a bubble bath too?" Bosco cursed and snatched the box from her hands and she burst into a fit of laughter.

"You want the tea or not?"

Faith tried and failed to suppress her smile. "No I'm good, thank you." He eyed her and deliberately made of show of slamming the dusty box into the trash bag. She raised an eyebrow and watched complacently as he continued to walk around the kitchen, chucking trash into the ever-burgeoning bag. He paused and set it down as he hunkered to peer at something.

"Bosco that's gonna break, get a new one."

Bosco looked up at her from his position on the floor. He frowned and continued to fish for some unseen object between the refrigerator and the cabinets. "You're so bossy," he grunted.

"I'm not bossy, I'm right; a trait that common people, such as yourself, often confuse."

"Uh-huh," he said half listening. He paused for a second and smiled. Inching back onto his knees, he pulled out a petrified, half eaten slice of pizza that could rival the age of the _Bhagavad-Gita_. He stood with it raised in the air and triumphantly cast the slice into the bulging bag. Without warning it split open spilling its contents in a small pile. Faith winced and looked at Bosco.

"Don't say a word."

She bit her lip and managed not to break out into an '_I told you so'_ grin. "Here," she said and bent to help him with another bag. They worked in silence scooping up the contents on the kitchen floor. Twice they bumped heads and Faith was mildly amused by the deep, hollow clunk that they made. She moved to reach for another bag and Bosco sat back on his haunches. He looped his arms easy around his knees and lightly twined his fingers together.

"Faith," he said staring absently into the pile.

"Yeah?"

He seemed to stare endlessly into the garbage on the floor and Faith was beginning to think that he'd forgotten what he was going to say until he inhaled deeply.

"I'm sorry," Bosco breathed. She raised her eyes slowly to his face and the only sound that could be heard in the silence was the crackle of the trash bag in her hands.

"I didn't mean what I said. I didn't mean it for you." He looked at her silently asking if she understood what he meant and she nodded. A sigh escaped his lips and a small part of him wished for a drink; he thought dimly of his father.

"It's okay Bosco."

His eyes wandered back to the pile and he began rocking slowly back and forth on his heels. _It's not okay, _he thought. Recalling the words that he's thrown at her last night made him angry, but there is little redemption in anger and he knew it. Was she his redemption?

(_Angelo)_

He didn't know the answer to that, but he knew that she had saved him too many times. She reached across the pile and swatted him softly. "Hey, let's finish this up and then we can move to the living room. Bosco—hello, are you there?" she asked and made as if to snap her fingers at him.

"Not today," he murmured looking into the pile.

"What?"

"Not today," he repeated and favored her with his gaze. "Today there's no 'we', today there's only me. Today I'm gonna do it on my own, you don't have to do this."

"I know I don't have to Bos; I _want_ to." He could see the hurt beginning to flood her eyes and he felt sorry, but he would not yield.

Bosco grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet and away from the pile. They stood at almost equal eyelevel, although Bosco had nearly an inch and half on her. His calloused hands were wrapped comfortably in the soft warmth of hers and it briefly occurred to him that they had touched nearly as many times in the last twenty-four hours as they had during their entire partnership.

"Faith," he began still grasping her hands, "you've been…great." _No_, Bosco frowned. She hadn't been 'great' that wasn't even close to the word. He shook his head and began again, "No Faith, you've been my _savior_. I want you to kn—"

"Bos don't—"

"Hush, let me finish," he looked at her hard as if to say that she _knew_ how difficult this was for him. Being openly kind and/or showing overt affection was just not his bag.

"I want you to know that," he resumed. "But right now, I need to do this by myself. That doesn't mean that I don't want you around…or that I won't…_need you_," he said forcing the last words out with great effort. "You understand that—don't you?"

Faith smiled and touched the side of his face. The hurt that had shown in her eyes was gone and only that familiar twinkle remained. "Of course I understand. It's alright Bosco, really."

A small smile shyly touched his lips and he looked at his feet. "Thank you," he murmured. Faith only smiled and squeezed his hand. Her forgotten purse sat like a spectator in a kitchen chair and she moved around him to get it. The keys rattled softly as she picked it up and slipped onto her shoulder. They walked together to the door and Bosco bit his lip when she reached for the knob.

"Hey," he called out. Faith turned to him expectantly and ran her fingers through her hair. Their eyes didn't quite meet and she could feel the awkwardness beginning to stretch and grow.

"I uhh…," he mumbled.

"What'd you say?"

"Uh, I said have a good day."

"You too," she said turning to leave.

"Faith!"

She turned to face him and Bosco stepped awkwardly towards her, seeming unsure of what to do. The tension between them began to grow again, but before Faith could say anything Bosco reached out and pulled her into a rough hug. Faith gasped in surprise and slowly smiled into his shoulder.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, his words muffled.

"Yeah, you'll see me tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Okay…bye Bosco."

"Bye," he returned. But neither of them moved. The wind blew in sweet gusts of air and Bosco thought he smelled honeysuckle. He had always visualized himself as a manly man who wasn't a bit on the mushy side. Never had any thing to do withgirly shit and that included hugs. But this, this felt _good_. He thought he could even do with more of these. Surely that wouldn't make him any less manly.

"Bos,"

"Hmm?"

"I'm gonna go," she said and quietly pulled away from him. Bosco sniffed and found that the smell of honeysuckles was mysteriously gone.

"Alright, be safe."

"Always, I'll call you tomorrow morning." He nodded and stuffed his hands down his pockets. She smiled at him, turned and left his apartment.

Bosco stood facing the door for a few moments before going back to the mess. _That was kinda weird_, he thought. But good weird or bad weird he couldn't quite say. All he knew was that he felt much better than he had in weeks, and that was saying something.

_All it took was a little Faith_, he mused. Bosco paused, looked up from his cleaning and frowned. _God, now I'm thinkin like a girl…need to lay off that crap_, he told himself and went back to cleaning. Although he did have a _few_ more 'girly' thoughts that day (honeysuckles, angels and wonderful things called hugs), he was one step closer to regaining control of his life. And yes, deep in his core Bosco absolute in knowing that all he really needed to keep him going was _faith_.

--------

More Chapters Coming Your Way! Comments? Negative and Positive Welcome.

Please Review, Thanks!


	6. This Way

_Author's Note:_

Hello folks! Don't hate me for the hiatus, I actually have been writing this for a bit. In fact, this entire piece was written within a week of the finale. It's just that I hated season six, or whatever season that was, so very much that it made me give up. After the finale was aired I had no muse, thus I stopped writing (out of sight of mind and so forth). I have debated for nearly two years between publishing this as is or waiting till I get the creative spark to finish this chapter. Well…it's been two years and I ain't seen no spark! I felt like I was cheating my readers by putting an unfinished product out there, so I've kept it to myself. You see, there really is no conflict (conflict: aka what makes a story interesting) in this chapter yet, because I never got to it. In the end I decided to go for and just publish it. I took off about 3,000 words worth of story towards the ending, because that part was truly unfinished; literally stops mid-sentence. Unfortunately, that happens to be some of my good stuff, but oh well. Maybe a spark will…you know.

So, without further ado!

Enjoy!!!

**This Way**

"Let's get somethin' to eat."

"I can't eat after this Bos."

"After what, all we did was run around the block? I think we should go somewhere else next time 'cause if we keep runnin' around these buildings I guarantee you some nut job will be waiting on us in one of these alleys."

"Next time, Bos I don't know about a next time. That-that right there just sucked."

"It wasn't that bad. All we need to do is keep it up and we'll be breezin' around here in no time flat."

"_We_, since when did this become a team effort? I don't know about all this _we_ stuff either."

"Hey no one twisted your arm to come out here a'right? You're the one who said we should do this together so put up or shut up."

"Shut up Bosco."

"Fine."

"Good."

"I'm hungry."

"Then go eat something!"

"Come with me."

"_No_! I told you I can't eat after this."

"No one said you had to eat Faith, just come with me."

"I don't want to go anywhere Bosco. What I want is to walk very slowly up my apartment steps, 'cause my ass hurts, and then I'm going to take a shower and pass out on my bed. I don't wanna go eat."

Bosco eyed her for a moment and shook his head. "Man, you got some serious issues."

"What?"

"All I ask is that you come with me to get some food and you rip my head off. Anger management Faith, anger management."

Faith blinked at him incredulously as he wagged a finger at her. Bosco sat down on the steps next to her and nudged her with his shoulder.

"C'mon Faith, it's just around the corner. They just made everything fresh and we'll be the only ones there."

"Whatever Bosco," she mumbled.

Bosco nudged her again and she rolled her eyes. "C'mon I'm buyin'," he said and hopped up.

"I'm not eating," Faith replied and stood slowly.

"So you keep telling me."

She fell in step with him as they made their way over to the cafe on 3rd. The wind picked up a notch and they both moved closer together so that they were walking shoulder to shoulder. Faith glanced at him and wondered when he was going to stop wearing that band-aid on his face.

They soon came to the intersection of 3rd and Houghton and waited until a few, early morning commuters cruised through the yellow light before they crossed the street. Faith glanced up at the all black building, the Three Mile Café, as they walked towards it. Bosco was right, there was no one in the café or on the street; even the pigeons were still asleep. Her fingers gripped the bronze spiral handle and swung the door open. A small bell sounded somewhere in the back, alerting the staff to their presence. They stepped into the café and where immediately inundated with the smell of freshly baked goods. Despite her earlier claims, Faith's stomach rumbled approvingly.

Bosco eagerly rubbed his hands together and crossed the small foyer. A large man with a sizable gut, dressed in all white, slung a towel over his shoulder and watched them approach from behind the bar. He was the type of guy who most mistook for slow and overweight, but was really the kind who was all hidden muscle and could seriously kick your ass. Bosco thought he would look more appropriate with a butcher's hat, a cleaver, a bloody smock, and some poor creature that had been born on the wrong farm. The should-be-butcher eyed Faith with slow appreciation and she managed to feel both disgusted and slightly flattered at the same time.

"Mornin'," he boomed.

Bosco glanced up and nodded in his direction. Where was he from? He couldn't quite place the accent. "How ya doin?"

"Not bad. What can I get f'you?"

"Uh, just need a minute," Bosco replied.

Faith sidled up next to him and peered into the bake case. "Oh _wow_ if gluttony's a sin, then book me a ticket to hell. Oh Bos that one has real cream in it, I bet it's delicious."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you just crying about not wanting to eat?"

Faith shot him a dirty look and went back to ogling the bake case. "I feel fine now, don't question me."

"Whateva. Yeah uh-Ike," he said reading the man's name tag, "I'll take two strawberry danishes, a bear claw, and um a slice of that banana bread—that any good?"

Ike looked up from the register and glanced down at Bosco, "What the banana bread?"

"Yeah, most people's tastes like crap."

Ike shrugged, "Yeah its fine."

Bosco nodded and stuffed his hands down his pockets. He waited a beat and glanced at Faith who was still staring into the bake case. "Faith I think it's actually shrinking away from you."

Faith straightened up and smiled uneasily at Ike. Ike's somewhat sour demeanor changed into a lecherous grin as he unabashedly looked her up and down. Bosco frowned at the man, but neither of them took notice. "Um, I'd like just a fruit salad—how fresh are those?"

"As fresh as you wannit t'be sweethawt," Ike said. Bosco sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Right, I'll take a fruit salad and a croissant."

Ike smiled and punched in her order on the touch pad without taking his eyes off of her. "That it?"

Faith smiled uncomfortably, "Yeah that's it."

"What, a skinny little thing like you and that's all you're gonna eat?"

"A skinny little…," Bosco muttered.

"That's it Ike," Faith said markedly cutting off his advances.

"Right, that's gonna be…$12._69_," Ike said, rolling the last two digits over his tongue with great emphasis.

Bosco balked and looked at Faith, "Jesus, is this what breakfast is going for over here?! What do you put in the dough, gold?" he said and slapped a twenty on the counter.

"Hey McScrooge, you're the one who said we should eat here so quit complaining," she told him.

Ike took the twenty and stuffed it in the register. Bosco watched as he reached for the change and the dollars seemed to disappear into his meaty hands. Looking at the size of them he wondered if the guy even had to put any force into his punch to do damage. Hell, the weight of those hands alone had probably broken plenty of faces in their time.

Bosco pocketed the change and nodded, "Thanks."

"Yeah, take a seat and I'll bring y'stuff out in a minute."

Bosco followed Faith to a table situated by the window and close to the gas fireplace. He looked around and wondered what the interior designers had been going for; charming Tuscany, cozy French, or traditional American. None of the themes seemed to flow or follow one another. It was a nice café, but the design theme was just a little off.

Faith quietly studied Bosco while he looked around the room. His features were sullen and unreadable. "Penny for your thoughts?" she queried.

Bosco looked at her and smirked, "Just a penny? How about _$12.69_?"

Faith felt her cheeks color and she smiled. "No seriously, what's up? What're you thinking about?"

"Why so curious?"

"Bos, remember that whole conversation we had about you not talking to me? Well this is one of those moments, so don't clam up on me now."

At that moment Ike appeared from the back room with their trays. He set them down on the bar and delicately tapped the silver bell next to the registers. "Foods up," he called out apathetically.

"I'll get it," Bosco said and slid out of his chair. He returned quickly and took his seat across from her. Spreading a napkin in his lap Bosco peered fixedly at the glistening bowl of ripe fruit. "That actually looks good."

Faith nodded and popped a piece of watermelon in her mouth. "Yeah it is, and that looks like a sugar rush from hell," she replied, pointing to his pile of baked goods.

"Don't knock it till ya tried it."

"Oh I have," she said and speared a rather plump strawberry, "that's why I have six chins and a tire around my waist."

Bosco raised his eyebrows and decidedly took a hunk out of his danish. After thirteen years he'd finally learned his lesson. There was no way in hell he'd follow the bait into _that_ territory.

"So, back to you," she said.

"I dunno what you want me to say," Bosco said around his danish, "I'm fine. I feel fine, I'm sleepin' fine. As much as it pains you to hear, I'm not gonna have a sob story every time I talk to you. We don't have to have deep, meaningful conversations all the time. Nobody does that anyway that's such a girl thing."

"Bosco I am a girl."

"Yes I noticed, I think that's your problem," he said and took another hunk out of his danish.

"Problem, how is me being a girl—excuse me, a _woman_ a problem?" Faith asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, let me see. All women, including you, think that they have to squeeze out every life story a guy has _every_ time they talk. See chicks get mad when you tell 'em that there's nothing on your mind but football, the weather, and the next time you're gonna get laid. Then they take it personally because they think you're lying. _Why won't you talk to me? We never have conversations anymore. Is it me? Why are you lying—what's happening to us?_ Yak, yak, yak. You're all the same," he said dismissively. Faith cut her eyes at him and kicked him hard underneath the table. "Ow! The hell was that for?!"

"For being a jackass. So did you make the appointment or not?" she growled.

Bosco rubbed his throbbing shin and scowled at her. "Yes mommy, I made the appointment. It's on Wednesday at 11 a.m. would you like to come with me and hold my hand?"

"Do you want me to?" she asked seriously.

He shook his head and fished out the banana bread beneath the other pastries. He stared down at his plate but didn't touch his food.

"Bos, what is it?"

Bosco shrugged and stole a quick glance at her. She had her patented _let me in I'll fix it_ look on her face and he knew that she was about to start squeezing. How could she always tell when he was bothered by something? Was he that transparent?

"Nothin' Faith." She fixed him with her raptor glare, wrong move. Was the room getting smaller or was it just him?

"Hey, we talked about this. You don't have to make this like an AA meeting. We can be here and we can just talk. Bosco please…"

She waited several moments and almost lost hope before he spoke. "I'm wasting my time," he ventured.

"How?"

"Going to my doctor's appointment," he explained, "I'm wasting my time." Bosco paused and looked her in the eye. His leg started to bob up and down like it did when he became uncomfortable. "They're just gonna tell me the same thing as last time."

"What did they tell you?"

"The same shit about not improving, stuff like that. And it makes me not want to go—I _know_," he said putting up his hands defensively before she could say anything, "I'm still going. It's just…I'm sick of hearing it. I don't want anybody to tell me how bad I'm doing and I know that's what's going to happen when I go in there."

Faith watched him staring forlornly at his pile of food. He sighed heavily and sunk lower in his chair. The leg bobbing had finally ceased and he rested it against hers. "Bos, just think of it like this. You've been holed up for several weeks not doing anything and not taking care of yourself, so of course they'll tell you that. But keep in mind that now you're taking control and being proactive."

Bosco nodded slowly and stole two grapes from her bowl. He chewed for a moment and took another glance at her. "Will you…uh will you keep running with me?" he asked tentatively.

Faith sat up a little straighter and smiled at him. "Yeah, I promise."

He nodded and took a bite of his banana bread. "Mmmm, thanks Ike, this actually tastes like crap."

Faith covered her mouth and laughed. "You want some of my salad?" she asked and pushed the bowl towards him.

"Yeah, why not? We're being proactive now, right?"

"Right," she said and let him pick out all of the grapes.

------------------------

'_Annnd that's all for the Wickup Show! This is Wick Nelson sayin' good mornin' and good day New York! Thanks for listening to WQ—' _ The alarm clock shut itself off even before Faith managed to raise her fist in the air. It could have been a simple electrical trigger, but more than likely it was from having its snooze button hammered in unmercifully thirteen times a week. The door slowly creaked open and a rumpled looking teenager slouched sleepily in the doorframe.

"Mommm…" Emily croaked.

"What?" Faith mumbled.

"Get up, it's 5:30. You told me to get you up, so I'm getting you up, now get up…I'm going back to bed."

"Just…five more—"

"Nooo!" Emily moaned, "I'm tired Mom, I have to sleep! He's gonna be here any minute and I _refuse_ to let you blame me this time."

Faith rolled onto her back and winced. "I hurt," she moaned.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Then don't do it." Her mother had been crying about her aching body for twenty-four hours nonstop and she was sick to death of hearing about it.

"Can't, I promised him."

"Fine, then get up!"

Faith moaned another protest, but rolled herself into a sitting position anyway. Every joint and muscle screamed as she did so. Yesterday morning had been the first hardcore exercise that she'd had in quite awhile, and her body was not appreciating it at all. Faith cursed herself for having promised Bosco. She was getting to old for this crap.

"Alright Emmy, I'm up. Thanks."

Emily grunted and slogged back to her bedroom, shutting her door loudly. Faith glanced at the clock and idly wondered if she had time for a shower; the hot water would work wonders on her sore muscles. Already 5:33 not a chance. Normally she would have gone for it because Bosco was forever running late. She never would have guessed that he would show up fifteen minutes early and gung-ho to run like he did yesterday. Bouncing on his heels and done up in new sweats, Bosco had frowned at her as she stood puffy eyed in pink pajamas. To say that she was surprised to see him would have been a gross understatement. She really didn't think he was all that serious about starting a running routine at six o'clock in the morning. Yet, there he was and soon here he would be again.

Faith rummaged through her closet and pulled out her new jogging suit. It was a dark blue set with a thick white stripe going down the sides. The top was nifty with a deep hood and had the kind of sleeves that were complete with quasi gloves on the ends. Normally Faith wouldn't have taken a second glance at it; she didn't even know what wicking fabric was. But Emily had made fun of her old ones and insisted that they go out and buy another as soon as possible. Since when had she stopped being trendy? Faith held the jogging suit up for closer inspection and thought back to the previous morning.

"_Mom, I think it's time to consider getting some new clothes."_

"_What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with this."_

_Emily raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "Okay Mom, whatever you say."_

"_What? It's just a jogging suit." _

"_Yeah but, that doesn't mean it has to look shabby. I mean it's a little small…"_

"_It is not small, it fits fine Em," Faith replied indignantly, although it did feel a little snug in certain places._

"_Right, that's why I can clearly see the crack in your butt and your stomach, is like really hanging over."_

"_Emily!"_

"_What? You asked me what was wrong!" _

"_Yeah, I didn't say insult me."_

_Emily rolled her eyes and turned to her mother as she walked towards the bedroom door, "Oh, and you might want to check out another sports bra too. You boobs are kinda—"_

"_Emily!"_

"_What? I'm just sayin'," she said and walked away._

Faith slipped into her clothes and then stood in the mirror inspecting her bottom and lifting her breasts to different heights. "Damn know-it-all kids," she muttered. Just then she heard a knock on the front door. She moved hurriedly from her room, grabbing her keys, water bottle and running shoes on the way out.

"Just a second," she whispered and undid the latch.

"Mornin' sunshine," Bosco said loudly.

Faith put a hand on his chest and pushed him into the hallway. "Shhh! Emily's sleepin' Bos," she said closing the door softly. "Not to mention the whole neighborhood." He apologized and she bent to slip on her shoes. As she laced them up a low whistled escaped his lips.

"What?" she asked.

"New clothes, tryin' to look hardcore, huh?"

"I'm not trying to look like anything. I get up yesterday and my daughter tells me she's embarrassed to know me."

"Why?"

"Emily thought that my jogging suit was outdated, and that's putting it nicely," she said as they began walking down the hall.

"What're you talking about it? There was nothing wrong with it."

"I know that's what I'm saying!" she cried not catching his sarcasm. At least someone agreed with her. "Aw man, my butt hurts. Does yours hurt?"

"Getting a little personal aren't we?"

"Oh please."

Bosco pressed the down button for the elevator and gave her a sideways glance. "Yes, my ass hurts like hell. Along with everything other part of my body, but that'll all pass as soon as we get in shape." The down arrow lit up and the doors chimed and parted for their entry. Bosco ushered her forward and stepped in behind her. Faith pressed the lobby button and when it didn't respond she tried again and then began punching the button impatiently.

Bosco grabbed her wrist and pressed the button gently. "Little high strung this morning Faith?" It immediately lit up and the elevator began its decent. "Just takes the right touch," he informed her. He gave her a smile and merrily began whistling a tune that sounded like a bad copyright infringement of _Spoonful of Sugar_.

Faith threw him a dark look, that went unnoticed, and wondered what in the hell he was so happy about. It was six o'clock in the morning for crying out loud! She ground her teeth, resisting the urge to throttle him while screaming and demanding to know _exactly_ how he had managed to talk her into getting up before the crack-ass of dawn, just to go jaunting around the park, when she could be sleeping. But she wasn't sleeping, she was currently locked in an elevator standing next to Mary Poppins. And wasn't it his fault that she was cranky and in intense pain anyway? _Damn right_, she told herself. _Who in the hell does he think he is? Thinks he's so goddamned smooth, 'the right touch'. Smart-assed, overgrown punk; I'll knee you in the balls! Six o'clock in the fu—_

"Hey! Earth to the mother ship, you comin' or you gonna stand there all day?" Faith blinked in surprise and realized that Bosco was looking at her from outside of the elevator. She blinked again and felt heat beginning to creep up her neck.

"What do you think?"

Bosco gave her a puzzled look that said '_what's with you'_ as he waited for her to exit the lift. They walked down the front steps of the apartment building in silence. It was still cool in the morning, the summer had yet to enter and bring with it its stifling heat. The wind blew hard as they passed rows of parked cars and Faith wished she had worn something a little heavier. They had both decided to start going to a small park that was several blocks from her home. Bosco had been surprised to learn that even though Faith had lived in the neighborhood for her entire life, she'd never been to it.

'_Sure I've passed by it' she had said when prompted. But when he asked why she'd never been in it she responded by saying that she'd had better things to do than lie in grass all day._

Bosco had grown quiet during the walk and she found herself wondering what he was thinking about. Her muscles were still sore, but the walk was beginning to warm them up and Faith was starting to fully wake. She had to admit to herself that it was actually kind of nice just to walk somewhere in New York without pushing through throngs of people. Besides the occasional fellow jogger, she and Bosco were utterly alone in this quiet, sleeping world. Faith smiled a little and caught Bosco looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

"What?" she asked him.

"Nothin', what are you all happy about?"

"Nothin'," she replied and continued to smile. Bosco raised his eyebrows at her, noting her polar mood change and shrugged. He'd never understood women, no matter how hard he tried.

"Well Sunshine, since you're so happy, what'd you say we jog over to the park? Then all we got to do is stretch and after that we can start."

Faith stopped cold in her tracks and stared at him. "Jog?" she asked, "As in jog to the park?"

"Yeah, to the park, why?"

"Won't that defeat the purpose of _going_ to the park?"

Bosco frowned and stepped back to where she stood looking very rigid. "No, we jog to the park, stretch, and then run. What's the problem?"

"Problem hmm…that would be the part where we run, and then run again," Faith said flatly.

Bosco waved her off and shook his head. "No Faith, we _jog_ to the park, stretch, and _then_ we run. You see the difference—the jogging and then the running? One's a warm-up and the other's the workout."

Faith cut her eyes at him and huffed. "Terrific," she grumbled.

Bosco noted with keen interest that he'd just witnessed another polar mood swing. "Alright…then c'mon." Bosco looked at Faith, obviously meaning for her to follow him into a jog. She scowled hard at the back of his head and let him take the lead.

Even though they had only been going for less than ten minutes once they came in view of the park, Faith felt like it had been an hour. Her legs burned, her lungs were on fire, and her heart felt as if it were going to explode into tiny shards. Bosco pulled up just at the gates and bent over to catch his breath. She slowed to a walk and continued past him, swatting him on his back as she went.

"Stand up," she said not looking back, "you'll breathe better that way."

Bosco looked up gasping heavily, "Since when are you the expert?"

Faith continued walking into the park with her hands cinching her hips, "Common knowledge."

The wrought iron arches of the gates spiraled above their heads and Bosco followed her under them. A small statue of a man standing proudly atop a hillock stood in the middle of the path just beyond the entryway. Faith glanced at the rusted nameplate and could barely make out the name _Gatston_.

"Hm, Gatston wonder what he did."

"Who cares?" Bosco retorted. "Just some geezer nobody remembers that they decided to name a park after. And what's with that anyway? Why do people insist on makin' asses out of themselves and spell park wrong?"

Faith peered curiously at him over the foot of the statue. "Bosco, what are you talking about?"

"Park—it's supposed to be spelled p-a-r-k, not p-a-r-c; buncha idiots."

Faith stared at him in amazement and held her tongue, "Yeah, pretty stupid…" Bosco nodded his agreement and hawked an enormous glob of snot into the red rubber mulch that surrounded the statue. She looked at him in disgust and moved away from the monument. He met her on the other side and they began walking towards the cement path that skirted the large green. Faith pointed to a small cropping of trees a little ways beyond the path and suggested that they move over there. Bosco nodded and the two crunched across the gravel and onto the smooth pavement.

The grouping of trees that Faith pointed to was a cozy nook made up of stunted oaks. Their large trunks were so twisted and bent that it looked as if the trees were bowing grandly to one another. They stopped under the great branches and set their water bottles down at the foot of the largest tree. As they moved beneath the small canopy, birds and squirrels loudly made their territory known to the pair bellow.

Bosco arched his back and grunted as it popped audibly. He glanced up into the trees and noticed that a large volume of animals were staring down at them. "If one of those birds' craps on me I'm gonna be pissed. And you—yeah you squirrelly. You even _think_ about droppin' that and I'll break every bone in your little paw. Yeah, and tell all your little chipmunk pals too. I can climb a tree faster than your moth—"

"Bosco!"

"What?"

"What the hell is this, a safari?!"

"Calm down, don't get your panties in a twist! I'm letting 'em know what's what; so when they crap on _your_ head, don't come crying to me."

Faith glared at him and partially unzipped her dark blue jumper. "You gonna lead or what?"

Bosco sighed and walked over to where she stood. He held her eyes for a few seconds and then led them through a series of stretches that moved muscles Faith didn't even know she had. During the stretch she moaned and complained about the difficult positions and her lack of flexibility. Bosco wasn't much better off than she, but towards the end she felt guilty when she caught him wincing. It suddenly occurred to her how painful all that movement must be for him; over the past few months he hadn't really moved at all. He had lost much of his muscle mass, his endurance, as well as his range of movement, and here she was complaining that she couldn't touch her toes. From that moment on, Faith vowed to hold in her complaints as long as he did; because if anyone had a right to do it, it was Bosco.

After working their hamstrings for what felt like hours, Bosco announced that they had finished their last stretch. Faith moaned in relief and Bosco flopped onto his back and let his breath out in a whoosh.

Faith watched him lying in the thick grass and crossed her legs beneath her. "A'right, are you ready?"

Bosco sat up and scratched the underside of his jaw. "Yeah, so this thing is about a half mile loop," he told her and gestured to the path surrounding them.

"Uh-huh."

"So I think we should run two laps around. Make it a quick mile."

"A quick—_a quick mile_? How is a mile quick?"

"You know, just set a good pace. You just gotta find the groove between jogging and sprinting. Trust me it won't take long. When I was with the Rangers we…"

Faith rolled her eyes and tuned out the rest of his speech. That had to be the six thousandth time she'd been subject to his '_when I was with the blah'_ stories. She waited the appropriate amount time before she stood and brushed off her bottom. Really she knew he was finished when he hawked another piece of his lungs onto the previously unmarred grass.

"_So_ charming," she muttered to herself. Bosco didn't catch the comment and went on to reach in his pants to 'readjust himself' without even checking to see if she was looking or not. Faith shuddered and walked up a slight slope onto the paved path. Bosco joined her and did a few more quick stretches as if he were about to run a 10K.

"Alright, I'm going to time us," he said and set his watch.

"Just remember Bos, this isn't a marathon and I'm not your army buddy. Got it?"

"Sure," he said unconvincingly. "Alright ready…go."

Bosco set the pace even though she knew he would go too fast for the both of them. She tried to concentrate on her running form rather than the burning pain in her lungs. _In through the nose, out through the mouth, in through the nose out through the mouth…_ They pounded the cement underfoot, sweeping past multitudes of benches and watchful pigeons. Around the third turn Bosco began to slow and Faith caught him favoring a stitch in his side. Part of her wanted to demand that they stop and take a short break or just quit altogether, but she knew him and knew better. Bosco was not the kind to be coddled; so they pounded on.

They rounded the last of the first stretch and passed by the entrance. _One more to go_, Faith told herself half hoping that her legs would be inspired by the thought and move faster, but they weren't having it. There was a sizeable gap between the two of them even though they had both noticeably slowed. She had never wanted to stop so badly in her life. So what if she was getting a gut? Who cared if she sat at home on her days off and watched TV? Did it really matter if she was just barely running faster than Sully these days? Sitting on her couch and growing five more chins was certainly more preferable to enduring this pain.

_Finally, oh FINALLY!_ Faith thought when she caught sight of the gates and the statue. _PRAISE JE-SUS!_ Just another hundred meters and then she could collapse in a heap and tell Bosco how much she hated him. Faith began to let her stride out and pumped her legs faster even though they burned in raw agony. In fifty meters she had come within a few strides of Bosco. By the time they were twenty meters away they were running side by side. She was going all out now pushing forward in a fury. They passed the statue together, slowed to a jog and then stopped.

They leaned heavily against one another as they made their way over to their tree. Faith wasn't sure who was holding up whom, but she was relatively certain that if one moved away the other would fall over. The trees were no less filled with animals than they were before. In fact it looked like the whole neighborhood had come out to see the spectacle. They all chittered and cawed as they walked below. Faith sunk heavily to the ground and splayed herself against the tree. Bosco bent over at the waist and tried to get his gasping breaths under control.

"Oh…my…God," she said as her chest heaved.

Bosco sat down hard on his butt and checked his watch. "Whew, 8:59. We'll have to get the time down."

"Whyyy," Faith moaned dryly to no one in particular.

"Because we're being proactive," he said and leaned back on his elbows.

"I hate you."

-------------------------

Bosco and Faith gathered their things and headed out of the park. Although it was a beautiful day outside, she couldn't say that she was all that sad to leave. The horde of staring squirrels and chipmunks were starting to give her the creeps.

"So what are you gonna do for the rest of the day," she asked as they strolled out of the park.

"Dunno, catch a shower…eat—you wanna go get something?"

"Yeah."

"How about we not go back to that place? Ike seemed a little on the stalker side, huh?"

Faith laughed and nodded. "Well there's a restaurant about a block north of here. They sell hot food and they've got a bakery."

A little while later they slid into a booth at Jarrett's All-American Diner, but everyone called it Jad's for short. Bosco picked up the menu and skimmed through it. A waitress sauntered over to them and gave them her best '_tip me well'_ smile.

"Any coffee for you today?" she asked positively beaming. Bosco figured she was either new to the business and had yet to be broken, she knew how to work customers for tips, or she was on drugs. _No one_ smiled that hard.

"Yeah, I'll take a cup," he said. Faith shook her head and went back to reading the menu.

As the waitress went for a coffee mug Bosco looked out the window. The sun was shinning brightly now, seeming to flood the entire city with light. More people were awake and out, walking their dogs, ambling to work and going about their routines. Bosco looked at Faith and admired the way the light was catching her hair again, making it shine and shimmer. Was this going to be their routine? Getting up and each being the first person the other saw every morning? Just being together like they used to be…

"Bosco you're staring at me again," Faith said without looking up.

Bosco blinked and quickly looked out the window. "I wasn't."

"You were."

"Here you go sir," said the waitress and she placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of him.

"Thank you," Bosco said. That small comment alone appeared to up her wattage by ten percent.

"Have you decided what you want to order?"

Faith set her menu down and looked up at the slender girl. She glanced at her name tag, _Angelina_ and nodded. "I'll have the _Aussie Salad_, a small croissant, and a large water with no ice, please."

Angelina nodded vigorously as she scribbled down the order. Bosco screwed up his face and looked at Faith. "What the hell is that?"

"And for you sir?" Angelina asked and turned her wattage up another notch.

"Bos, just order."

"Uh yeah, take a bear claw, eggs scrambled hard, two orders of bacon, an order of sausage, and toast—with grape jelly," he added quickly.

"Jesus," muttered Faith.

Angelina nodded, scribbled and grinned. "Sure, I'll have that out to you in a few minutes."

"Thanks," said Faith. "You know you're gonna have a heart attack if you keep ordering those cholesterol specials."

"Don't you worry about it, so what the hell is an _Aussie Salad_?"

"It's just a fruit salad with kiwis in it," she replied.

"So why do they call it an _Aussie Salad_?"

"I don't know Bos! Maybe they grow kiwis in Australia. How should I know?"

Bosco leaned forward and whispered, "Hey, is it me or is she starting to creep you out?"

Faith snorted, "What cause she keeps smiling like a freak?"

"Yeah, it's just weird."

"Well she wasn't smiling that hard at me, I'll tell you that," she said and winked at him mischievously.

Bosco grimaced and sunk down in his chair, "Aw don't say _that_!"

"What Bos, I thought she was your type? Tall, dumb, fifteen—"

"Stop it," he hissed and kicked her foot underneath the table, "I never dated a fifteen year old. That's just wrong and nasty."

Faith nodded and looked at him earnestly. "Sure, but the tall and the dumb part are right up your alley then, right?"

"Hey I don't date dumb chicks—"

"Here you go sir," Angelina set down two plates in front of Bosco.

"That was quick," he said trying not to look up at her.

Angelina said nothing, but grinned widely at him instead. She glanced at Faith and her smiled dimmed just the tiniest bit. "And I'll have yours out in just a few," she told Faith and walked away.

"Well I guess the cook's fast…_just shut up Faith_," Bosco muttered and tried unsuccessfully to hide from the blatant grinny stares he was getting from their waitress.

Faith looked from him to Angelina, tilted her head back and cracked up.

-------------------------

"Hey you."

"Hey baby," Faith called out to Emily. She stepped through the door and kicked off her shoes. She was pretty much used to wearing heels everyday, but every now and then there were times when she wanted nothing more than to suit up in the old familiar.

"So how did it go?" Emily asked from the kitchen. She glanced up from chopping vegetables and watched her mother cross the small foyer and slide wearily into a dinning room chair.

"Oh, the hearing?"

"Mmhm."

Faith let out a deep sigh and looked up at the ceiling. "They cut him loose."

"_What?_"

"I know I know I couldn't believe it. After all that, he was acquitted of all charges."

Emily looked flabbergasted, "But they have his DNA. Couldn't—couldn't they just…_they let him go?_"

"I know," Faith said again jadedly.

"Mom I'm so sorry."

"Me too Em," Faith nodded and shifted her weight in the chair. "I told that to the mother of one of the girls he'd raped. I'd practically assured her that this guy was going away for good. I mean I just _knew_ we had 'im…but they set him free. You should've seen the look on her face, on all their faces. We lost the case and now that bastard's back in the free world. I failed all those mothers and their families…all those girls." Faith looked miserably at the tabletop and thumbed the soft, worn leather of her wristwatch.

Emily wiped her hands on the kitchen towel and moved towards Faith. Their relationship had taken a new turn since the divorce less than a year before and they were constantly entering territory that had previously been unvisited. This too was new to her. Faith was not the kind of person to show deep emotions in front of her children. Emily wasn't used to offering comfort or just being there emotionally for her mother. In truth it made her see Faith in a new way, almost like she was a real person and not just '_mom'_. In turn this made her grow to respect and understand her mother even more.

"Mom, I made some linguini with pesto sauce. When's the last time you ate?" Emily made her way over to the table and sat down adjacent to her mother. The lines in Faith's face where more pronounced and it seemed like all of her features where pointing downwards.

"Oh thanks sweetheart, but I'm…I think I'm just gonna call it a night and go to bed. Okay? I'm sorry baby," Faith said apologetically. She gave her daughter a small smile, but it didn't come close to reaching her eyes.

"No it's okay, mom. I know you're tired, but it'll be in the fridge if you get hungry later. If you need anything will you let me know?"

"I'll do that. Thank you so much Emmy, I'll see you in the morning." Faith stood and smoothed her hand over Emily's hair. As she walked away her movements were slow and leaden. It looked like the world had bested her today.

"Mom?"

Faith blinked tiredly and turned to her daughter. "Yes?"

Emily paused for a second and then launched herself at her mother and held on tightly. She pressed her nose against her neck and inhaled. She smelled _Chanel No. 5_ and then underneath that, the bone-achingly familiar smell that was all her mother. It took her racing back to her childhood where she had spent many hours safely encircled within those arms and surrounded by her smell. She would always long for that.

Emily still held on tight and whispered firmly in her ear. "You haven't failed anyone mom. Not one person. You did everything right and it's not your fault that he's out. Don't you ever think it's your fault. If the world was right then he would be in jail where he belongs. But it's not and that has _nothing_ to do with you. It's people like you that try to protect us. It's people like you who take the night shift just so the rest of us can sleep safely. So, thank you for being who you are mom thanks for keeping me safe."

Faith's eyes were wide and shiny with tears as she pulled back and cupped her daughter's face in her hands. Oh how this girl had grown, how she loved this girl! "I _love_ you Emily," she said and her voice warbled.

"I love you too mom, very much." Emily leaned forward and kissed her mother on the corner of her mouth. "Go to sleep," she whispered and then nudged her gently in the direction of her bedroom. Faith caressed her cheek and kissed the top of her head.

Later that night she lay in bed drifting in and out of sleep and wondering when her daughter had changed. She had expected that she would be able to witness the changes in her maturity level, but instead they seemed to jump out and make themselves apparent at the most unanticipated moments.

Faith had been beaten down by the day's events. She had expected that she and Jelly's thorough investigation would provide the much needed evidence for the prosecution team. The entire investigation had seemed rock solid, so much so that even the judge was rumored to favor their argument. When the jury had called out the verdict, Faith was unprepared for the shock. She had spent weeks collecting evidence and helping the prosecutors make their case impermeable. Throughout the short hearing, the defense had been unable to poke holes through any part of their case—they were completely in the clear. But then for some reason, the jurors had it in their heads that Nick Poccetti had not indeed raped fourteen underage girls and killed six of them. No, it seemed that the rapist-killer was innocent.

The announcement had sent a thunderbolt racing through her body and set her nerve endings on fire. It unnerved her that people could dismiss such compelling evidence in a case as sensitive as this one. Declining Jelly's offer to take her out and get them both smash drunk, Faith dragged herself home. She didn't want to get drunk. Drunk never really resolved anything; it just blurred the lines a bit until the morning. And when that morning came you ended up with the same problems you had to start out, only nothing had been done about them, and to top it off you were usually hung over and wishing someone would just kill you.

So she'd come home and found her daughter cooking the two of them a meal. Emily was a surprisingly good cook and Faith loved her linguini. She hadn't been expecting that tonight, they usually reserved the cooking for weekends and Faith's off-days. _What a sweetheart_ Faith thought as she sleepily fingered a loose thread on her blanket. Emily had turned into such a thoughtful person lately; she really turned her cards over. Their relationship had begun to grow since the divorce. They could actually hold conversations together that weren't just about the surface stuff. Faith was surprised to discover that Emily actually cared about what went on in her day, what she thought about things and how she was feeling on many different levels. It shocked her to think that once she'd had an obnoxious teenager who wanted nothing to do with her and now, all of a sudden, she had this loving young woman. She was blown away by Emily's words tonight and it was those words and those feelings that kept her awake.

_She loves me_, she thought, _she really does love me_. Emily and Faith had said and done things to each other that would encourage otherwise, but tonight changed her. Tonight she knew that her daughter loved her not only as her mother, but also as a _person_.

-------------------------

Emily hovered over her mother's bed and shook her again. "Mom…mom wake up. Mom get up its Bosco."

Faith opened her eyes and squinted at Emily over her shoulder. "What?" she asked groggily.

Pressing the mouthpiece of the phone against her chest Emily pointed to it and said, "It's Bosco, he wants to know if you're going for the run this morning?"

Sighing she sunk back into the covers and shook her head. "She says no, she's really tired," Emily translated. "Uh-huh…yeah I think so, hold on a sec. He says he heard about what happened yesterday. He wants to know if he can come over and bring us breakfast."

"Umm I'm a little—"

"She says yes, she'll be up soon—"

"_Emily_!"

"Yep, okay…yeah…no I don't think she likes that one anymore…mmhm amaretto. Right, see you in a bit." Emily pressed the talk button and glanced down at Faith.

"What mom? All you're gonna do is mope around all day. You might as well get up and do something."

"Emily I'm tired. I haven't slept that much and I don't feel like seeing anybody," said Faith irritably.

"I know that's why he's bringing you coffee. And it's just Bosco mom, it's not like you have to entertain him," she said as if Faith should know this.

Faith scowled and rolled over obstinately. "I don't want to see anyone today…and I have a headache…" she said from beneath her covers.

"You do not have a headache, get up and put some clothes on. Or at least get up. He wants to come over and make sure you're okay. _I _think that's nice. Aren't you always complaining about how insensitive he is?"

Underneath her mountain of covers, Faith blinked. Where had she learned to throw things in her face like that? _Well she didn't get that from me, that's for sure_, Faith thought dishonestly. She was right though, bringing them breakfast was quite nice of him. A few years ago she would have scoffed in disbelief at the idea of him making such a gesture. But he'd changed—he was, well _sweeter_ now, sweeter in the sense that Faith has never known him to actually be sweet. Sure he would do things for her like tell her she was a good mother, cop, and all that stuff. He would listen to her rag on and on about her life and visa versa, but he'd changed. He wasn't as loud as he used to be, every word from his mouth wasn't about how great and mighty he was. Now they held conversations, real adult conversations.

They'd been through a lot in the last year. Faith thought about it for a minute and realized that they were becoming closer in a way that they never had before. Next to Emily he was the first person she saw most mornings. Since they had started their morning runs there wasn't a day that they didn't talk to each other. They didn't run every morning, but even on their off days Faith still ended up waking up before seven am (which irritated her because Bosco had been training them like they were in boot camp and now she couldn't sleep past seven) and sometimes talked with him on the phone over a cup of coffee.

Emily watched the lump under the covers and debated whether or not she should throw the phone at it. Using her better judgment she decided it wise not to piss off a grumpy bear—better to lay out some honey instead. She sat down on the bed and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Mom are you really not going to get up? I know you don't want to see anybody, but he sounded kind of worried about you—well _really_ worried actually…" Emily waited patiently for her words to sink in as the lump rustled around under its canopy.

"Well, that's okay I guess. I'll call him and tell him that you don't want him to stop by. I mean by the time he buys all that stuff and drives _all the way_ over here in the traffic, he's likely to want to go home anyway. Besides, he's probably got better things to do. Yeah so don't worry about it mom, it's just Bosco right? I'll go ahead and phone him…" Emily said and pressed the talk button for good measure.

Suddenly a hand shot out from the covers and grabbed her wrist. "_Alright, _alright you win! _Jesus H_…" Faith muttered a few expletives and sat up. She looked blearily around the room and frowned at Emily who was looking quite pleased with herself. Stumbling away to the bathroom she snarled and cast her a dirty look.

A short while later Emily heard a familiar knock on the front door. _That was quick_, she thought and clicked the mute button for the TV. She uncurled herself from the sofa and got up to answer the door.

"Hey Em," Bosco greeted her quietly. "Is she…?"

Emily ushered him into the room and helped him with one of the bags. "Yeah, no it's okay you don't have to whisper, she's up."

"Yeah? How's she doin'?"

Emily shrugged and grabbed a few plates from the cabinet. Jelly and Faith had been working on that case nonstop for weeks. It was all she had talked about, thought about, and dreamt about. It was her first big case, and it had just been throw back in her face.

"She's okay…well she's really bummed out actually."

"Oh," he said softly and busied himself with setting the table. Emily kept eying Bosco with curiosity and wondered why he was so quiet. They pulled out the food and coffee and arranged them on the table. Bosco went to wash his hands in the kitchen sink and Emily took a seat at the table.

"Should we wait for her?"

"No, it's okay. I don't know how long she'll be. How'd you get over here so fast?"

"I own a Mustang," he replied as if this answered everything. He took one of the coffee cups out its carrier, popped the top off and took a sniff. "I don't see why people get so jazzed up about this coffee. It just tastes like hot boiled piss."

"Ew Bosco that is _so _nasty!"

"Well it does," he said and took a sip.

"That's because you drink it black. Steamed milk, sugar, flavor shots, you know all the good stuff? That's what makes it taste good. Don't know why you put yourself through all that." Emily pulled a smaller cup, with the word _Chai_ scribbled on the side, and took a tentative sip.

"See that's what all the bean freaks at Starbucks say. I tell 'em that coffee wasn't made for all that crap. It should only be drunk one way, black. If it tastes bad, then it's their fault. All their over priced shi—I mean crap," he said hastily and turned slightly pink. Emily continued sipping her tea and waited for him to continue.

"I paid damn near _four dollars_ for a medium coffee! Then preppy little teenyboppers on uppers tell me what I want is a _Grande_. I don't want a freagin' Grande, I want a medium. Why did they have to go and reinvent all the sizes?" he ranted.

"I know, who thought of that? I think it's really lame, but people get _so_ bent out of shape about it," Emily replied.

"You mean Bosco gets bent out of shape about it," Faith said as she walked over to the table wearing her bathrobe.

Emily watched her mother sit down at the table and wondered what she had been doing in the bathroom for so long. She hadn't gotten dressed and it didn't look like she had even bothered to run a comb through her hair. She only hoped that she had at least brushed her teeth. Faith and Bosco smiled at each other and despite her bedraggled appearance, he didn't seem to notice.

He passed Faith the container of fruit salad and placed a porcelain bowl in front of her. "Have some," he said, motioning for her to serve herself and slid a small plate of croissants next to the bowl. Faith smiled at him appreciatively and nibbled on a croissant.

"So, what brings you over to these parts? Emily tells me you were afraid I might jump out of a window or something," she said with a half smile. Bosco appraised her for a moment and took stock of what lay behind the surface of her eyes. She was sad, that was easy to see, tired, disappointed too.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Faith studied the bowl of salad and shook her head. "No," she sighed, "not really much to say about that, is there? A killer's back on the streets, everyone else got screwed…I dunno…" she shook her head.

"You worked really hard on—"

"Bos please, I don't want to talk about it, please," she said softly. A tumult of protests threatened to force their way out of his mouth, but he only pursed his lips and nodded.

A weighty silence fell upon the table. Bosco played with the edge of his table mat and Faith stared at her food. _Well this is going swimmingly well_, Emily thought irritably.

"Yeah, so Bosco how's that _SS _Chevy rolling these days?" Emily asked innocuously.

Bosco blanched and gripped his coffee. "_What are you talking about_?"

"Your car…you know the Chevy?"

"I don't own a Chevy. I ride in a 1969 Mach I Mustang. Chevy's are for puss—I mean…Chevy's are absolute and total crap. Who told you I rode in a Chevy?! That's actually insulting Emily…"

Emily smiled and nodded stupidly as he launched into a five minute tirade on why Chevy's were trash and how could she possibly think that he rode in one, etcetera. Well, at least it took the edge off the whole situation. Bosco had nothing on his mind but cars and Emily even saw her mother give her a grateful wink.

A short while after his rant, Faith excused herself to go get dressed. Emily munched on her banana nut muffin and looked around at Bosco warily. He didn't seem to care anymore about the supposed car incident and had seated himself in front of the TV, clicking through the channels feverishly. She decided that it was safe to be near him, so she curled herself into the overstuffed easy chair.

"Bosco?"

"Yep?"

"Thanks for coming over, I appreciate it and so does she."

Bosco swiveled his head to look at her and nodded. "Sure Em and uh…sorry about that whole car thing. I just now realized that you were um drawing the attention to yourself. So, um thanks for that… I guess."

Emily smiled seeing how uncomfortable he was with giving and receiving complements and making apologies. No wonder he made such blunders in the social world. The man had absolutely no grace. "It's no problem," she replied and tucked a curly lock behind her ear.

They sat in front of the television for a while and ended up watching more blurred shows than anything, because Bosco couldn't stay on one channel for more than three seconds. Emily stretched and yawned lazily and checked her watch.

"Oh!"

"What?" Bosco asked.

"I told Deena I'd be there at twelve! Shit—I mean damnit—_crap_!" she cursed and sprang into action.

"Language!" he cried.

"Oh like _you_ can talk."

Bosco nodded, she did have a point, and resumed flipping through channels. Emily jogged to her bedroom and then stuck her head in the bathroom without knocking. Steam billowed out and Bosco heard her telling Faith that she was going out and would be back later in the evening.

She hurried past him to the door and then doubled back. "Bosco."

"Hmm?" he asked and looked up at her. Before he could even duck she placed a quick kiss on his stubbly cheek.

"Thank you for staying."

"Sure," he said gruffly and turned quickly so she wouldn't see how furiously he was blushing.

"See you," Emily called and shut the door.

Bosco stood up stretched and sauntered over to the table to grab another croissant. He stuffed half of it into his mouth and checked his watch. The game would be on soon and he idly wondered what Faith was still doing in the shower. He continued flipping through channels and landed on some _Discovery Channel_ show about sex.

The narrator's voice was low and sexy and Bosco thought they had no business putting this stuff on TV at a time when some innocent child could easily watch it. Yet despite his inner objections he watched transfixed as they showed moving slides of a couple having sex in a MRI machine. He was so engrossed in the show that he didn't realize that anyone else was in the room until someone breathed very close to his ear.

"Enjoying the show?"

"GAAH! Did you have to do that?!" he screamed at Faith and hastily changed the channel.

"Bos I thought you knew how that stuff worked. The way you were all slack jawed and looking sideways, one would think you were a virgin. You been lying to me all these years?" she asked and laughed.

Bosco cut his eyes at her and wished that his face would stop burning red. It wasn't everyday that someone caught you watching other people having sex, even if it was 'educational'. "What took you so long?"

Faith shrugged and leaned into the same chair that Emily had recently vacated. Bosco flipped through the channels with no real ambition and kept a steady watch on her from the corner of his eye. Her hair was wet and hung in straight sheets on her shoulders. She wore a white long-sleeved t-shirt and green cotton pants. Dangling one of her slippers from the tips of her toes she stared absently at the TV. Bosco continued channel surfing and flew past a show with what looked like an orange ball of fluff running at the screen. He paused suddenly, eyes ready and alert, and quickly backtracked through the channels. A smile came to his lips and he sat up straighter, staring at the screen with a crazy gleam in his eye.

"Oh no Bos what are we watching?" she asked and squinted at the ball running towards the screen. "This is one of those damned animal shows isn't it? No way, I can't handle that today."

"Handle what?"

"In five minutes you're going to go nuts; we've had this discussion this before. I'm not in the mood to hear you and your animals, especially not today."

"_Faith_—c'mon Faith! I just want to watch this show I haven't seen this one. Seriously, what'd you think I was gonna do, check out some chick flick on _Lifetime_? No way, we're watching this—and nobody's gonna get worked up about it either. So just calm down and relax."

"You're the only one who's going to get worked up," she muttered. "Are there any croissants that escaped your ravenous tape worm?"

"Yeah."

Faith pushed herself up from the easy chair and moved over to the table where a lone croissant lay on a crumb littered plate.

"Bos I thought you said this one escaped."

"It did, it's there isn't it?"

"Yeah, but you took a bite out of it."

"How you figure I took a bite out of it?"

Faith sat down next to him on the couch and tore off a small piece. "Uh gee, 'cause I've been watching you eat for like ten years Bosco. I know you. So why are we watching this again?"

"Because it's educational now be quiet."

Faith dusted the crumbs off her fingers and pulled her knees up to her chest. Well, this so wasn't bad, she may have been watching some boring show, but at least she had company. What was so exciting about a sloth taking its sweet time climbing up a tree anyway? She glanced at Bosco and sighed. They'd probably end up watching this crap for the rest of the day.

"Yeah, here it comes baby," he whispered.

"Hm? Here what comes—OH! Oh God Bos you could have warned me!" Faith cried as a cheetah leapt onto screen out of no where and took a viscous swipe at the slow moving sloth. What the hell was this a sick joke? _Crazy people must watch this!_, Faith thought and then looked at Bosco.

"Faith look you're missin' it!"

"I don't wanna look! Why the hell don't they shoot that bastard?!"

She heard a small, almost inaudible, cry and looked up. The sloth hung onto a branch and looked pleadingly into the camera for help. Below him a cheetah swung like a pendulum on its hindquarters. The weight of the cheetah began pulling them both down, but the sloth held steadfast onto his branch. Once he let go, both Faith and the sloth knew it would be over. The cheetah's claws slipped deeper down into his flesh and tore the already jagged gash longer. She saw the white glint of bone but it was quickly covered by a fresh wave of the sloth's blood. Another small sound escaped his mouth and Faith wondered if he was crying. Without warning the sloth silently let go and both animals plummeted to the ground. The cheetah recovered quickly but the sloth remained lame and looked off into the distance as if waiting for the uninvited guest to begin feasting.

"Oh my God Bos…this is horrible. You watch this?"

Bosco nodded enthusiastically, but did a double take when he saw how watery her eyes were. _Oops, not helping…_ he thought. He cleared his throat and scooted closer to her until they were shoulder to shoulder. "Hey," he said and patted her thigh awkwardly, "don't get upset about it, s'not that bad. Just the way of the jungle you know?"

Faith responded with a tiny pitiful whimper. "The jungle…do you think that's what we live in Bos, a jungle?"

"What're you talking about?"

"Well, the cheetah, he's clearly a predator. He stalked that sloth that was going about his business as usual and out of no where he rips his legs off. Now that sloth didn't do a damn thing to him. Didn't curse him, spit at him, throw him the finger—I don't even know if they have a middle finger… Okay I'm rambling. But my point is that isn't this the same thing that we see everyday on the streets? Isn't this the same thing that Pocetti did? He preyed on those innocent little girls," she said and her voice went up an octave.

"What did those kids do to him Bos? _Nothing_. And what about the system, the system that's supposed to be just and fair and give a damn? What good did it do anybody? It's no better than those fucking camera guys watchin' that poor, defenseless sloth getting murdered by that fucking cheetah and doing nothing about it! Nobody gives a goddamn Bosco. Nobody's lookin' out for the little guy anymore. You get up and you do the job and _this_ is the shit that happens. This is it Bosco. So should _I _bother trying anymore? What goods it gonna do if everybody just acts like animals?"

Bosco stared at Faith and a few seconds passed before anyone spoke. He picked up the remote and shut off the television. "Hey," he said softly and touched her shoulder.

"We just worked so hard on that case," she whispered.

"I know."

"I let everybody down." Faith sniffled softly and a tear spilled over and slid down her cheek.

"You didn't let anybody down," he murmured and pulled her head to his shoulder and let her cry. "A'right, can I say something, just one thing?"

"What?"

"You're still a good cop…and other people suck," he said matter-of-factly.

Faith smiled and leaned back onto his shoulder. "Thanks Bos."

Bosco squeezed her shoulder and said to the top of her head, "You know it."

"So does this mean we get to watch a different channel?"

"Uhh…"

"_Bosco_."

"What, I didn't say no…per say…I mean there are different shows on this channel you know. Like the next one see," he said and powered on the TV. "See, the next up's _Animal Precinct_. It's in New York and it's about cops who bust perps for abusing their animals. It's got a kick ass chick, she's a cop, _trust_ _me_ you'll like her."

Faith lifted her head and stayed curled up next to him. They watched the preview of the upcoming show and she sniffed and raised her eyebrow. "So now instead of watching a sloth get ripped into ribbons we're going to watch emaciated dogs and kittens parade across the screen. Tell me, how is this better?"

"It's got guns, lights and sirens."

"You are a shameless, shameless man."

--------------------------


End file.
